“But I pay the amount on one condition.”
“What is that, Mr. Rogers?”
“The condition is that he accepts and fills the position of general manager of the Burdock Route.”
“General manager!” echoed Manson, “I’m talking seriously, Mr. Rogers.”
“So am I, Manson, so am I. And don’t you see what a good bargain I’m driving? You say Steele is first class. All right; I know you wouldn’t vouch for him unless that were so. Very well. I get a general manager for fifteen dollars a week; cheapest in the country, and doubtless the best. I confess, however, my chief delight in offering him the position is the hope of seeing old Blair’s face when he first meets in conference the youth he has dismissed, his equal in rank if not in salary. It will be a study in physiognomy.”
If the staid Philip Manson thought that Steele’s native modesty would prevent him from accepting the management of the Burdock Route, he was much mistaken. When Manson related quietly the result of his interview with the Hon. Duffield Rogers, the youth amazed him by leaping nearly to the ceiling and giving utterance to a whoop more like the war-cry of a red Indian than the exclamation of a Scottish Highlander. Then he blushed and apologised for his excitement, abashed by Manson’s disapproving eyes.
“I tell you what it is, Mr. Manson, I’ll make the roadbed of the old Burdock as good as you’ve made the Midland, and I’ll——”
“Tut, tut!” said Manson, in his most unenthusiastic tone; “you can do nothing without money, and the Burdock’s practically bankrupt. Be thankful if you receive your fifteen a week with reasonable regularity. Now, here is a letter to the Hon. Duffield Rogers. Give it to the doorman at the club, and Mr. Rogers will invite you in. You will find the president a humourous man and you have a touch of the same quality yourself; but repress it and treat him with the greatest respect, for humourists get along better with dull people like myself than with one another. Although you are leaving the jurisdiction of Mr. Blair, do not forget what I told you about paying attention to your clothes. You will be meeting important men whom you may have to persuade, and it is better to face them well groomed; a prepossessing appearance counts in business. Prepossession is nine points in the game. Here is the letter, so be off.” The division superintendent rose and extended his hand. “And now, my boy, God bless you!”
The tone of the benediction sounded almost gruff, but there was a perceptible quaver underneath it, and after one firm clasp of the hand the divisional superintendent sat down at his desk with the resolute air of a man determined to get on with his work. As for John, he could not trust his voice, either for thanks or farewell; so he left the room with impetuous abruptness, and would have forgotten his hat if he had not happened to hold it in his hand.
To the ordinary man the Burdock Route was a badly kept streak of defective rails, rough as a corduroy road. To John Steele it was a glorious path to Paradise; an air line of tremendous possibilities. He went up and down its length, not in a private car, but on ordinary locals and freight trains. He became personally acquainted with every section foreman and with nearly every labourer between Warmington and Portandit, the western terminus. He found them, as a usual thing, sullen and inert; he left them jolly and enthusiastic, almost believing in the future of the road.