The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, 13 May 1915, Page 3

The Storyteller

CLOSING THE CONTRACT In the eyes of her admiring husband, Mabel Conover had never looked more attractive. She was seated at a low dressing-table, her face brought into high relief by the electric light globes which were turned full on her and which threw back the reflection in the oval French mirror. A soft smoke-colored evening gown hung loosely about her shoulders, accentuating the outlines of her shapely arms and the velvet texture of her skin. Ralph Conover stood behind his wife, fine looking in formal evening dress. , He was struggling to get his white lawn tie exactly even, and turning this way and that to catch some view of himself in the small dressingtable mirror. Mrs. Conover rose from her chair and turned her back to her husband while he patiently brought together hooks and eyes and snapped in place a multitude of patent fasteners. When the last hook had been slipped in place and the final fastener pushed in, he sat down. 'Ralph,' said his wife, affectionately patting his broad shoulders, ' you're not much of a success as a dress-hooker but,' here she smiled, ' I don't believe I'd want a husband who was.' 'Any man would be glad to do things for you.' The man leaned down. ' You never looked better than you do to-night, and you never had a dress that was more becoming.' ' I'm glad you like it, for I went to a-lot of pains to get the dressmaker to fit it exactly,right. You see it means a lot to me, this visit. Do you realise, Ralph, here we are, weak-end guests of the Severances in one of the smartest homes on Long Island?' Mrs. Conover's eye took in with satisfaction every detail of the perfectly appointed suite that had been assigned to them in the Severance cottage. Through the big window of the sitting-room one could see the lights along the shore, and further out the bobbing lanterns on the masts of boats at anchor. A shaded lamp on the centre table brought out the delicate coloring and soft folds of the draperies at the windows, and was itself dimmed by the reflection of the cheerful fire on the hearth. At one end of the room was an alcove, cut off by a pillared entrance with partly drawn silk curtains, the bedroom and dressing-table. ' Being invited here,' she went on, thinking aloud rather than talking to her husband, ' will bring a flood of dinner and dance invitations this spring, and from the right sort of people, too. I know women who would pay well to be known as one of the week-end guests at the Severance cottage.' ' It means more than that,' Conover put in, standing near his wife and dropping his voice. ' You remember that contract I was figuring on so —the one that I used to bring home at night and do extra work over ' For the bridge?' Yes. Well, Mr. Severance is the chairman of the board of directors of the company that is to build that bridge.' ' Then he is going to give you the contract ? And that's why he invited us here?' ' T am not so sure.' 'Why?' ' That's not the way business deals are generally entered into. If he wanted to give me the contract, ho had only to do it in the office and call me up.' ' Then there is something special about it?' 'Yes; Robert Donohue and his wife are here, too.' 'He's one of your competitors, isn't he?' Mrs. Conover inquired. My main competitor. A fellow who knows the details told me that there is practically no difference in my figures for building the bridge and those submitted by Donohue. We are tied for first place, so to speak,

and I don't . believe the directors themselves know who will get the work. ■: And Donohue is here, too ?' * ;.'•-■■■;.•.' I'm sure he is,' Mrs. Conover put in, 'I saw Mrs. Donohue in the hall when we came in.' ~.-, Ralph Conover walked over to the window and gazed out over the long stretches of lawn that were terraced down from the Severance dwelling to the ocean. Outside, the weather was only pleasantly cool, one of those lapses in late winter when spring seems to anticipate herself. - It would be moonlight later and the landscape was not totally dark. Ralph mechanically followed the row of lights that outlined the winding driveway and then trailed off into the ocean, where the tossing black water was suggested rather than revealed. His mind was busy with the contract. Why had he been asked to the Severance home ? He knew Henry Severance in a business way and had met his wife a few times, ' casually, at social gatherings. Surely these meetings, of themselves, would not explain Severance's invitation. And Donohue, Conover believed, knew the Severance family less intimately than he. Yet both were guests. ' It is the most important contract I have figured on. If I get it, my future is assured. I have done some good work before, but never on any such scale as this calls for. The profit on it means new gowns for you, it means a new automobile—many of the things you have wanted. For me it will be the beginning of my real career. I have figured out every detail and know that I can do the work properly. So there is a great deal more to this than a mere invitation to a week-end party. It may be the turning point with me, and I want you—' here Ralph Conover put his arm about his wife's shoulder—' to do what you can to help me.' 'Of course I will ; but if you expect me to help you, we must get down in time for dinner. Through the centre of the Severance home ran a long hall, flanked at either side with pillars of dark wood. At one end were the glass doors of the main entrance, at the other a recess where a marble statue stood out against a red velvet background in the reflection of hidden electric lights. Reception rooms, livingroom, library and dining-hall opened into this long foyer. Each room had been finished in a different sort of wood, and it was this fine selection of rare woods that gave the Severance cottage distinction in a neighborhood of pretentious residences. The guests at the house party were talking in groups in the big hall when Mr. and Mrs. Conover rounded the last landing of the staircase. Their host and hostess met them and saw that they were introduced to the few they did not know. Mabel Conover carried herself with perfect selfpossession. The simplicity of her gown, in sharp contrast to the overdone elegance of several of the other women's costumes, served to emphasise her natural beauty. ' I never realised how good looking your wife is,' Donohue remarked, edging up to Conover. ' I always did ; but even a diamond looks better in an artistic setting.' r ' Say,' Donohue asked in a whisper, ' why do you suppose Severance asked us here?' 'How should I know? I don't feel out of place, do you ' No, but—' Ralph Conover was mentally casting about to avoid the man's questions without being rude. - He had made up his mind not to talk of business matters, and particularly not to mention the contract. He knew that he had all the data which Donahue possessed, and perhaps more. He was not certain that Donohue was aware that he, too, had made a bid for the work. He had no intention of offering any information. There was no need for diplomacy, however, as the butler had now thrown open the doors to the diningroom and was standing, stiff and formal, mutely announcing that dinner was ready. Mrs.. Severance knew how to choose the members of her party so that all should be congenial. There was no superciliousness

in the group she had selected for this occasion and no posing; nearly every one of the dozen gathered about the beautiful table was distinguished either. by social position or ability Mr. Severance directed the general conversation but never monopolised it. The talk of those seated near Ralph Conover drifted to a discussion of the spectacle before the public at the' moment of a very wealthy man, recently divorced, who had scandalised the community by rushing from State to State trying to bribe ministers to marry him and his latest affinity, although the terms of his divorce decree forbade his remarriage. ' I believe that if a couple cannot agree, and living together means certain wretchedness to them both, they ought to be allowed to seek a divorce and find happiness in another alliance. Don't you, Mr. Conover?' said the woman at Ralph's left. After all, isn't it the general good we should seek? I.grant that certain individuals must suffer from hasty and unconsidered marriages; but should the hardship of a few individuals be a valid argument for a system that undermines the family—the foundation on which our social organisation is built? -This, it seems to me, aside from any religious consideration, ought to be taken into account by those who plead for looser divorce laws,' Ralph replied. Mrs. Conover,"at her husband's right, leaned nearer and spoke in an.undertone : " ' This is no time to talk religion. Do you want to spoil it all ?' ' - But Ralph's table partner was one of the multitude of those who like to talk and hate to listen, so his answer to her query passed unheeded. The lady was already giving her opinion of the new style of dancing and had forgotten the subject of a moment before. Views about the war, politics, and the theatre carried the conversation through the remainder of the dinner, and when they left the table newer guests, asked for the latter part of the evening, were already arriving! When those at the dinner sauntered back into the long hall, they found the rugs rolled back and a small orchestra stationed near the stairway. Both Ralph Conover and his wife were good dancers. . The crowd of young people, the dancing set of Long Island, took them into their ranks at once. 'l'd love to have a house like this and give a party,' Mrs. Conover said to her husband during one of the few dances they had together. ■ ' If I get the contract, we will be well started on the way toward having one.' After the last automobile load of young folks had whirred away from the house, Conover and his wife talked over the events of the evening. ' I'm sure of one thing,' Ralph yawned—' if I don't stop gossiping about my neighbors and go to sleep, I'll never be up in time for church in the morning.' 'Church?' Mrs. Conover started. ' Surely. The church here is around the turn in the road, at the left of the monument we passed on our way here. The late Mass .begins at 10 o'clock, which will give us plenty Of time if we don't stay awake all night talking.' ' But, Ralph, the people here ! We are the only, Catholics in the house, and you don't want to be conspicuous. Did Henry Severance or his wife say anything to you about going to church?' « No.' 'Then, Ralph, why aro you so determined to go? It is going to be a grave inconvenience to us and to our host, if we make ourselves singular in this way. You said yourself that a lot depends on our making a good impression here, and now you are planning to upset it all. Have you forgotten about the contract?' ' That is one of the reasons I am surely going to Mass,' Ralph replied gravely. I am certain that Henry Severance knows that I am a Catholic ; the first time I met him was at a reception to the Cardinal. He understands, as every well-informed Protestant does, that a Catholic's obligation to assist at Mass is more binding than a non-Catholic's duty to attend his church on Sunday. We are Catholics and understood to be Catholics. There will be more than one member of

the. house party watching to see if Donohue and I go to Mass, although they will be too well bred to mention the subject. This snobbishness on the part of wellmeaning Catholics merely serves to discredit them. We are Catholics, and I for one' don't intend to apologise for it, or be a Catholic on the sly when I am sure none of my stylish friends will see me.' ',-'- 'All right/ Mrs. Conover sighed. 'Only, don't blame me if you lose the contract.' 'I won't blame you, no matter how it comes out. I am merely doing what I know to be the right thing.' The sun had been up many hours before the guests at the Severance home were about next morning. Even then some preferred to have breakfast in their rooms, and so were not in the group before the log fire in the living-room when Severance entered. ' We have lunch at 2 o'clock and dinner at 7,' she announced, ' and I want each of you to do what he likes best. You will find cards in the library and the motors in the garage are at your service. They have a good course at the country club for those who like golf, and tea is served there at 4 o'clock. I have arranged that those of you who care to go will be looked out for there.' ' Mis. Conover and I are planning to go to church this morning,' Ralph smilingly remarked. ' We're Catholics, you know, and if there is no motor convenient, it will do us good to walk there,' ' Of course there is a motor convenient, and I'll tell the man to be ready in time. The Catholic service is at 10 o'clock and the Episcopal at 11. J'in sorry I didn't mention it before: 1 knew von were Catholics, too! Is there any one else for this trip? Mow about you, Mr. Donohue V Donohue reddened as he caught his wife's glance. ' Oh, I guess not to-day, thank you.' The Monday morning sunshine poured itself over lower Manhattan, touching with a thousand lights the wondrous skyline of down-town New York. Pile on pile the mighty buildings, rising proudly above their more modest fellows, lured hundreds of thousands of workers to the weekly toil. In the Director's Room of the Intercontinental Railway offices half a dozen chairs had been hastily pushed back from the mahogany table and a uniformed clerk was gathering up pencils and pads. President Henry Severance shook hands with the departing directors and passed through a. door at the rear into his private' office. lie did not go to his desk,- but stood looking out over (lie splendid panorama below him.- lie was going over in his mind the results of the directors' meeting, and thinking of the opportunities they had placed in the way of a young man. Severance had passed the meridian of life. lie had won the battle for success and had realised his reward in wealth, power, and distinction. Yet he felt that he would willingly give it up to be young again and have the joy of conflict and victory that he felt sure was in store for the man he was about to summon. Going to his desk, he pressed a button. His secretary responded. ' Get Mr. Conover on the wire and ask him to come to my office.' In ten minutes Conover was there. ' Mr. Conover,' the president began, ' our directors met to-day and gave final consideration to the awarding of the bridge contract. I don't mind telling you that the decision lay between Donohue and yourself. Both bids were substantially the same ; the standing and.reputation of the bidders were equally satisfactory. Put there is an element in every contract that does not appear in the papersthe element of character. That is what counts most, after all, in the business world. They had asked my report on that, and that was why I invited you both to my home. ' It wa~> your stand on the matter of going to church that influenced my final decision. I am not a church member, but I understand the' Catholic attitude and I like to see a man true to his convictions. I may or may not agree with him— can't all see: alike—but

they are his convictions and he is known by them." If a man is faithful to his ideals, to the religion to which he is pledged, it shows that he has the one thing most needed in businesscharacter. It shows that he will bo faithful in other matters, faithful when no one is looking. . • , : 'This is, in substance, what I reported to * the directors, and they closed the contract by awarding it to you on a unanimous vote.' . Ralph was too excited to do more than nod his thanks and acceptance. ** And, now the matter is settled, I want you to come to lunch with me ? We can go over the details then.' 'Certainly,' said Ralph. 'You don't mind my using the telephone a minute, do you I want to send a message,' here Ralph smiled—'it's to my wife.' — Rosary Magazine.