One day, after a series of skirmishes and a final pitched battle in “South Shore” between the Old Man and the bears, when the pelts4 of the latter, after the capitulation, added nearly a half million to the old fellow’s bank account, certain luminaries5 of the Methodist Episcopal Church were called into consultation6. Silas Shaw had long thought about it; and now there was much conferring and more or less arid7 and misplaced sermonizing by the theologians 212and much soothing8 talk by the Old Man’s lawyers; and more Methodist clergymen and more lawyers and more talk; and then a real estate agent and an architect and a leading banker and, at last, just one check from the Old Man.
The next day the newspapers announced that the Shaw Theological Seminary had been founded and endowed by Mr. Silas Shaw. But even after the Old Man had devoted9 his ursine10 spoils to this praiseworthy object, Wall Street continued skeptical11.
And, yet, Wall Street made a mistake—as it often does in its judgment12 of its leaders. Silas Shaw really had a soft spot in his tape-wound and ticker-dented old heart for all things ecclesiastical. Next to being a power in the Street he loved to be regarded as one of the pillars of his church. He heard with pleasure, of week days, the wakeful staccato sound of the ticker; but on Sundays he certainly enjoyed the soothing cadences13 of familiar hymns14. And if more than one hardened broker3 expressed picturesque15 but unreproducible opinions of the old man, so also more than one enthusiastic young minister could tell pleasant stories of how the old stock gambler received him and responded to the fervent17 appeal for the funds wherewith many a little backwoods church was built.
213Shaw’s generosity18 was so notorious among the church people that the Reverend Doctor Ramsdell, pastor20 of the Steenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church and a trustee of the Shaw Theological Seminary, felt no embarrassment21 in applying to him for assistance. It was not Shaw’s church, but in Dr. Ramsdell’s charge there were one or two bankers well known in Wall Street and several members of the New York Stock Exchange. It seemed particularly fitting to the Rev19. Dr. Ramsdell that the name of Silas Shaw, followed by a few figures, should head a subscription22 list. It was desired to erect23 a Protestant Chapel24 in Oruro, Bolivia—the most uncivilized of all the South American “republics.”
“Good-morning, Brother Shaw; I trust you are well.”
“Tolerable, tolerable, thank’ee kindly,” replied the sturdy old gambler. “What brings you down to this sinful section? Doing some missionary25 work, eh? I wish you’d begin among those da—er—dandy young bears.”
“Ah, yes,” said the Rev. Dr. Ramsdell, eagerly. “It is precisely26 à propos of missionary work.” And he told Silas Shaw all about the plan for carrying the light into Bolivia by building the only Protestant chapel in Oruro, where it was incredibly 214tenebrous—worse than darkest Africa. The reverend doctor hoped, nay27, he knew, in view of Brother Shaw’s well-known devotion to the glorious work of redeeming28 their benighted29 Bolivian brethren, that he could count upon him, etc.; and the subscription list——
“My dear Dr. Ramsdell,” interrupted Shaw, “I never sign subscription lists. When I give, I give; and I don’t want everybody to know how much I’ve given.”
“Well, Brother Shaw, you need not sign your name. I’ll put you down as X. Y. Z.,” he smiled encouragingly.
“No, no; don’t put me down at all.”
The good doctor looked so surprised and so woebegone that Shaw laughed.
“Cheer up, Doctor. I tell you what I’ll do; I’ll buy some Erie for you. Yes, sirree; that’s the best thing I can do. What do you say to that?” And he looked at the doctor, triumphantly30.
“Ahem!—I am not—are you sure it will prove a—ahem!—a desirable investment? You see, I do not—ah—know much about Wall Street.”
“Neither do I. And the older I grow the less I know.”
215The reverend doctor ventured a tentative smile of semi-incredulity.
“That’s right, Doctor. But we’ll make something for you. The blooming, I mean, benighted Bohemians——”
“Ahem!—Bolivians, Brother Shaw.”
“I meant Bolivians. They must have a chance for their souls. John,” to a clerk; “buy 500 shares of Erie at the market.”
“Yes, sir,” said John, disappearing into the telephone booth. To buy, “at the market” meant to buy at the prevailing31 or market price.
“Brother Shaw, I am extremely grateful to you. This matter is very close to my heart, I assure you. And—ah—will—when will I know if the—ah—investment turns out profitably?”
“Oh, have no fears on that score. We shall make the stock market contribute to your missionary fund. All you’ll have to do is to look on the financial page of your paper every evening and keep posted.”
“I fear, Brother Shaw,” said Dr. Ramsdell, deprecatingly, “that I shall have no little trouble in—ah—keeping posted.”
“Not at all. See, here,” and he took up his paper and turned to the stock tables. “Draw up your chair, Doctor. You see, here is Erie. Yesterday, 216on transactions of 18,230 shares, Erie Railroad stock sold as high as 64? and as low as 63?, the last or closing sale being at 64?. The numbers mean dollars per share. It was very strong. Haven’t you got a report on that 500 Erie yet, John?”
“Yes, sir,” said John. “Sixty-five and one-eighth.”
“You see, Doctor, the stock is still going up. Well, every day when you look on the table you will see at what price Erie stock is selling. If it is more than 65?, why, that will show you are making money. Every point up, that is, every unit, will mean that your missionary fund is $500 richer.”
“And—Brother Shaw—ahem!—if it should be—ah—less?”
“What’s the use of thinking such things, Dr. Ramsdell? All you have to remember is that I am going to make some money for you; and that I paid 65? for the stock I bought.”
“You really think——”
“Have no fears, Doctor. You understand, of course, that it is well not to give such matters undue33 publicity34.”
“Of course, of course,” assented35 the doctor. “I understand.” But he did not.
217“Nothing more, Doctor?”
“No; I thank you very much, Brother Shaw. I—er—most sincerely hope my—ah—your—I should say—ah—our investment, may result in—ah—favorably for our Bolivian Missionary Fund. Thanks very much.”
“Don’t mention it, Doctor. And don’t you worry. We will come out O.K. You’ll hear from me in a week or two. Good-morning.”
The reverend doctor went across the Street to the office of one of his parishioners, Walter H. Cranston, a stock broker.
Mr. Cranston was bemoaning36 the appalling37 lack of business and making up his mind about certain Delphic advice he contemplated38 giving his timid customers, in order to make them “trade,” which would mean commissions, when Dr. Ramsdell’s card was brought.
“Confound him, what does he want to come around, bothering a man at his business for?” he thought. But he said: “Show him in, William.”
“Good-morning, Brother Cranston.”
“Why, good-morning, Dr. Ramsdell. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
“I’ve called to see you about our Missionary Fund. You know I take a great deal of interest in it. We desire to build a chapel in Bolivia, 218where the light is needed, Brother Cranston, as much as in China, I assure you. And it is so much nearer home.”
“Doctor, I really—” began Cranston, with an injured air.
“I want your valuable autograph to head the subscription list,” said the clergyman with an air he endeavored to make arch and playful. “Don’t refuse me.”
“Why don’t you try some well-known person?” said Cranston, modestly.
“To tell you the truth, Brother Cranston, I did try Silas Shaw.” And he added, hastily, “Not but that you are sufficiently39 well-known for my purpose.”
“What did the old ras—the Old Man say?”
“He said he never signed subscription lists.”
“Didn’t he give you anything at all?”
“Oh, yes; he—er—he did something for me.” The doctor’s face assumed a portentous40 air.
Cranston’s eyes brightened. “What was that?” he said.
“Well,” said the clergyman, hesitatingly, “he said we would come out O.K. Those are his own words, Brother Cranston.”
“Yes?” Cranston’s face did not look promising41 for Bolivian enlightenment.
219“Yes. He—er—told me he would make the stock market contribute to the fund.”
“Indeed!” Cranston showed a lively interest.
“Yes. I suppose since you are in the same business, there is no harm in telling you that he bought some stock for me. Five hundred shares, it was. Do you think, Brother Cranston, that that—er—that will mean much? You see, I have the fund very close to my heart; that is why I ask.”
“It depends,” said Cranston, very carelessly, “upon what stock he bought for you.”
“It was Erie Railroad stock.”
“Of course, Dr. Ramsdell, your profits will depend upon the price you paid.” This also in a tone of utter indifference42.
“It was Brother Shaw who paid. The price was 65?.”
“Aha!” said Cranston. “So the Old Man is bullish on Erie, is he?”
“I do not know what you mean, but I know he told me I should read the paper every day and see how much above 65? the price went; and that I would surely hear from him.”
“I sincerely hope you will, Doctor. Let me see, will $100 do? Very well, I’ll make out a check for you. Here it is. And now, Doctor, will you excuse me? We are very busy, indeed. 220Good-morning, Dr. Ramsdell. Call again any time you happen to be down this way.” And he almost pushed the good man out of the office in his eagerness to be rid of him.
No sooner had the ground-glass door closed on the Rev. Dr. Ramsdell than Cranston rushed to the telephone and put in an order to buy 1,000 shares of Erie at the best possible price. By doing this before he notified his friends he proved that he himself firmly believed in Erie; also, he bought his stock ahead of theirs and thereby43, in all likelihood, bought it cheaper. He then rushed into the customers’ room and yelled: “Hi, there! Everybody get aboard Erie! Silas Shaw is bullish as Old Nick on it. I get this absolutely straight. I’ve thought all along the old rascal44 was quietly picking it up. It’s his movement and no mistake. There ought to be ten points in it if you buy now.”
The firm of Cranston & Melville bought in all, that day, for themselves and their customers, 6,200 shares of Erie, doing as much as anyone else to advance the price to 66?.
All that week the reverend doctor was busy collecting subscriptions45 for the Bolivian Missionary Fund. He was a good soul and an enthusiast16 on the subject of that particular subscription list.
221So, he told his parishioners how Brother Cranston had given $100 and Brother Baker46, another Wall Street man, $250, and Brother Shaw had promised—he told this with an amused smile, as if at the incongruity47 of it—to make the stock market contribute to the fund! Brother Shaw had done this by buying some stock for him and had assured him, in his picturesque way, that it would come out O.K. in a week or two. Everybody to whom he told that fact developed curiosity regarding the name of the stock itself. They showed it in divers48 ways, according to their various temperaments49. And as he had told some he felt that he should not discriminate50 against others; so, he told to all, impartially51, the name of the stock. It would not harm Brother Shaw, he supposed—and he supposed rightly. He experienced, in a gentle, benevolent52, half-unconscious sort of way, something akin32 to the great Wall Street delight—that of “giving a straight tip” to appreciative53 friends. The Bolivian Missionary Fund grew even beyond the good man’s optimistic expectations.
But a strange, a very strange thing happened: Erie stock, according to the doctor’s daily perusal54 of the dry financial pages, had been fluctuating between 65 and 67. On the following Tuesday, 222to his intense surprise, the stock table recorded: “Highest, 65?; lowest, 62; last, 62?.” On Wednesday the table read: “Highest, 62?; lowest, 58; last 58.” On Thursday, there was a ray of hope—the stock sold as high as 60 and closed at 59?. But on Friday there was a bad break and Erie touched 54?, just 11? points below what the Bolivian Missionary Fund’s stock had cost. And, on Saturday, the stock declined to 50, closing at 51?.
That Sunday the Reverend Doctor Henry W. Ramsdell preached to the gloomiest congregation in Gotham. Wherever he turned his gaze he met reproachful looks—accusing eyes, full of bitterness or of anger or of sadness. An exception was Mr. Silas Shaw, who had come, as he often did, to hear his friend, Dr. Ramsdell, preach. His eyes beamed benignantly on the pastor throughout the long sermon. He looked as if he felt, Dr. Ramsdell thought, inexplicably55 contented56. Had he forgotten his promise—the promise from which benighted Bolivia expected so much?
The two men met after the service. Dr. Ramsdell’s manner was constrained57; Mr. Shaw’s affable.
“Good-morning, Doctor,” said the grizzled old operator. “I’ve carried a small piece of paper in 223my pocket for some days, in the hope of meeting you. Here it is.” And he handed a check for $5,000 to the clergyman.
“Why—er—I—er—I—didn’t—the stock—er—go down?”
“Sure!”
“How is it then that——”
“Oh, that’s all right. It came out just as I expected. That’s why you get the check.”
“But—ahem!—didn’t you buy 500 shares for me?”
“Yes; but after you left I sold 10,000 shares between 65 and 67. Your congregation, Doctor, developed a remarkable58 bullishness on Erie.” He chuckled59 gleefully. “It was to them that I sold the stock!”
“But my—ahem!—impression was that you said the stock would go up.”
“Oh, no. I never said that. I merely told you we’d come out O.K. And I guess we have.” He laughed joyously60. “It’s all right, Doctor; those pesky Bolivians will be enlightened, you bet.”
“But,” said the doctor, with a very red face, fingering the check, hesitatingly, “I don’t know whether to accept it or not.”
“Oh, you’re not robbing me,” the old stock 224gambler assured him, gaily61. “I made out quite well; quite well, thank you.”
“I—I—mean—” stammered62 the clergyman, “I don’t know whether it is right to——”
Shaw frowned. “Put that check in your pocket,” he said, sharply. “You earned it.”
The End
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affiliations
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| n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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luminaries
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| n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式） | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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ursine
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| adj.似熊的，熊的 | |
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skeptical
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| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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cadences
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| n.（声音的）抑扬顿挫( cadence的名词复数 )；节奏；韵律；调子 | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
bemoaning
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| v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的现在分词 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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42
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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subscriptions
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| n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助 | |
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46
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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incongruity
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| n.不协调，不一致 | |
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48
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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temperaments
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| 性格( temperament的名词复数 )； （人或动物的）气质； 易冲动； （性情）暴躁 | |
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50
discriminate
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| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
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51
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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52
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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53
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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54
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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55
inexplicably
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| adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是 | |
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56
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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57
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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58
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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59
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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61
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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62
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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