Four congratulated himself that he had put off some one, who was about to ask for something. I thought little of the incident at the time, but it turned out important, as will be seen. Several weeks passed by, and I had nearly forgotten the occurrence when Mr. Clay of Montreal walked into my office. Mr. Clay had been one of my old acquaintances. He had been in many business ventures, and had made much money. He really did not need any more money than he had, but he liked the business game for itself. It was the only game he could play. After we had greeted each other, and he was seated by my desk, he explained the reason of his call.
“I am here,” he said, “to see you in the first place.”
“Indeed.”
“Yes. I believe you can be of some use to me. As you know, I am in many things. One of the most important is our Blank factory. Now for reasons which I need not explain just now, I need your Minister. I am going to see him this morning, but before going to him I thought it might be wise to call on you and discover what manner of man he is. I want you to warn me against any peculiarities he may have; tell me when and how to see him; and how best to approach him.”
At once I saw an opportunity for a little mild amusement. “You have come to the right man,” I assured him. “I know my Minister like a book. Now listen to me. He is not difficult to see. Any one can see him, but to get anything out of him is quite another matter. He is smooth, very smooth. He will listen to you with patience; he will smile knowingly and be deeply interested in your affairs. When you are run down, he will turn quietly and blandly to you and say, ‘Well, Mr. Clay, I quite understand you. Write me a letter in the matter, and it will have my earnest attention. I am busy this morning, so will bid you good-bye.’ If you leave him then you are done. You will never see him again, and your letters will all be filed. I give you this information in confidence, for what it is worth; govern yourself accordingly.”
“That,” said Mr. Clay, “is just the kind of information I want. I assure you I am very glad to get it. Now I know what to do.” And he left me to visit the Minister.
Three days afterwards I met Clay on Sparks Street. When he caught sight of me his face was wreathed in smiles. He grasped me warmly by the hand and said, “Wesblock, you are certainly a prophet.”
“How?” I asked.
“Why, my boy, it was really funny. I was coming to see you this morning to tell you all about it. I saw your Minister and everything happened just as you said it would. When he said, ‘Write me a letter in the matter,’ I nearly laughed in his face; but being forewarned I was ready for him. I said, ‘No, Mr. Minister, I will not write any letter. I will come again as often as you like, but I want this matter settled, and your decision to act or not to act given to me personally.’ Well, sir, he was taken back. He hummed and hawed, and I followed him up and landed him just like a fish. I leave for Montreal to-day. You will hear something from me soon.”
I had lunch with Clay that day, and told him how I had come to be informed of the Minister’s method. Clay left for Montreal in the afternoon. Within thirty days he once more sat in my office. He had momentous things to say to me. He was so pleased with himself, with my Minister, with his business, and with me, that he offered me a very good position in one of his large manufacturing companies, which I refused on the spot without much consideration.