Had he been present at an interview which took place after he had retired7, he might have been better pleased. The banker had not been many minutes in the parlor8, chewing the cud of the affair, before he was interrupted by his cashier. In this there was nothing unusual; routine required Rodd's presence in the parlor several times in the day. But his manner on the present occasion, and the way in which he closed the door, prepared Ovington for something new, and "What is it, Rodd?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, and disposing himself to listen.
"Can I have a word with you, sir?"
"Certainly." The banker's face told nothing. Rodd's was that of a man who had made up his mind to a plunge9. "What is it?"
"I have been wishing to speak for some time, sir," Rodd faltered10. "This----" Ovington understood at once that he referred to the Squire's matter--"I don't like it, sir, and I have been with you ten years, and I feel--I ought to speak."
Ovington shrugged11 his shoulders. "I don't like it either," he said. "But it is of less importance than you think, Rodd. I know why Mr. Griffin did it. And we are not now where we were. The withdrawal of a few hundreds or the loss of a customer----" again he shrugged his shoulders.
"No," Rodd said gravely. "If nothing more follows, sir."
"Why should anything follow? I know his reasons."
"But the town doesn't. And if it gets about, sir?"
"It won't do us much damage. We've lost customers before, yet always gained more than we lost. But there, Rodd, that is not what you came in to say. What is it?" He spoke12 lightly, but he felt more surprise than he showed. Rodd was a model cashier, performing his duties in a precise, plodding13 fashion that had often excited Arthur's ridicule14; but hitherto he had never ventured an opinion on the policy of the bank, nor betrayed the least curiosity respecting its secrets. "What is it?" Ovington repeated. "What has frightened you, man?"
"We've a lot of notes out, sir!"
The banker looked thoughtfully at the glasses he held in his hand. "True," he said. "Quite true. But trade is brisk, and the demand for credit is large. We must meet the demand, Rodd, as far as we can--with safety. That's our business."
"And we've a lot of money out--that could not be got in in a hurry, sir."
"Yes," the banker admitted, "but that is our business, too. If we did not put our money out we might close the bank to-morrow. That much of the money cannot be got in at a minute's notice is a thing we cannot avoid."
The perspiration16 stood on Rodd's forehead, but he persisted. "If it were all on bills, sir, I would not say a word. But there is a lot on overdraft17."
"Well secured."
"While things are up. But if things went down, sir? There's Wolley's account. I suspect that the last bills we discounted for him were accommodation. Indeed, I am sure of it. And his overdraft is heavy."
"We hold the lease of his mill."
"But you don't want to run the mill!" Rodd replied, putting his finger on the weak point.
The banker reflected. "That's the worst account we have. The worst, isn't it?"
"Mr. Acherley's, sir."
"Well, yes. There might be a sounder account than that. But what is it?" He looked directly at the other. "I want to know what has opened your mouth? Have you heard anything? What makes you think that things are going down?"
"Mr. Griffin----"
"No." The banker shook his head. "That won't do, Rodd. You had this in your mind before he came in. You are pat with Wolley and Mr. Acherley; bad accounts both, as all banks have bad accounts here and there. But it's true--we've been giving our customers rope, and they have bought things that may fall. Still, they've made money, a good deal of money, and we've kept a fair margin18 and obliged them at the same time. All legitimate19 business. There must be something in your mind besides this, I'm sure. What is it, lad?"
The cashier turned a dull red, but before he could answer the door behind him opened. Arthur came in. He looked at the banker, and from him to Rodd, and his suspicions were aroused. "It's four o'clock, sir," he said, and looked again at Rodd as if to ask what he was doing there.
But Rodd held his ground, and the banker explained.
"Rodd is a little alarmed for us," he said, and it was difficult to be sure whether he spoke in jest or in earnest. "He thinks we're going too fast. Putting our hand out too far. He mentions Wolley's account, and Acherley's.
"I was speaking generally," Rodd muttered. He looked sullen20.
Arthur shrugged his shoulders. "I stand corrected," he said. "I didn't know that Rodd ever went beyond his ledgers21."
"Oh, he's quite right to speak his mind. We are all in the same boat--though we do not all steer22."
"Well, I'm glad of that, sir."
"Still," mildly, "it is a good thing to have an opinion."
"If it be worth anything."
"If opinions are going----" Betty had opened the door behind the banker's chair, and was standing23 on the threshold--"wouldn't you like to have mine, father?"
"To be sure," Arthur said. "Why not, indeed? Let us have it. Why not have everybody's? And send for the cook, sir, and the two clerks--to advise us?"
Betty dropped a curtsy. "Thank you, I am flattered."
"Betty, you've no business here," her father said. "You mustn't stop unless you can keep your opinions to yourself."
"But what has happened?" she asked, looking around in wonder.
"Mr. Griffin has withdrawn24 his account."
"And Rodd," Arthur added, with more heat than the occasion seemed to demand, "thinks that we had better put up the shutters26!"
"No, no," the banker said. "We must do him justice. He thinks that we are going a little too far, that's all. And that the loss of Mr. Griffin's account is a danger signal. That's what you mean, man, isn't it?"
Rodd nodded, his face stubborn. He stood alone, divided from the other three by the table, for Arthur had passed round it and placed himself at Ovington's elbow.
"His view," the banker continued, polishing his glasses with his handkerchief and looking thoughtfully at them, "is that if there came a check in trade and a fall in values, the bank might find its resources strained--I'll put it that way."
Arthur sneered27. "Singular wisdom! But a fall--a general fall at any rate--what sign is there of it?" He was provoked by the banker's way of taking it. Ovington seemed to be attaching absurd weight to Rodd's suggestion. "None!" contemptuously. "Not a jot28."
"There's been a universal rise," Rodd muttered.
"In a moment? Without warning?"
"No, but----"
"But fiddlesticks!" Arthur retorted. Of late it seemed as if his good humor had deserted29 him, and this was not the first sign he had given of an uncertain temper. Still, the phase was so new that two of those present looked curiously30 at him, and his consciousness of this added to his irritation31. "Rodd's no better than an old woman," he continued. "Five per cent. and a mortgage in a strong box is about his measure. If you are going to listen to every croaker who is frightened by a shadow, you may as well close the bank, sir, and put the money out on Rodd's terms!"
"Still Rodd means us well," the banker said thoughtfully, "and a little caution is never out of place in a bank. What I want to get from him is--has he anything definite to tell us? Wolley? Have you heard anything about Wolley, Rodd?"
"No, sir."
"Then what is it? What is it, man?"
But Rodd, brought to bay, only looked more stubborn. "It's no more than I've told you, sir," he muttered, "it's just a feeling. Things must come down some day."
"Oh, damn!" Arthur exclaimed, out of patience, and thinking that the banker was making altogether too much of it--and of Rodd. "If he were a weather-glass----"
"Or a woman!" interjected Betty, who was observing all with bright inscrutable eyes.
"But as he isn't either," Arthur continued impatiently, "I fail to see why you make so much of it! Of course, things will come down some day, but if he thinks that with your experience you are blind to anything he is likely to see, he's no better than a fool! Because my uncle, for reasons which you understand, sir, has drawn25 out four hundred pounds, he thinks every customer is going to leave us, and Ovington's must put up the shutters! The truth is, he knows nothing about it, and if he wishes to damage the bank he is going the right way to do it!"
"Would you like my opinion, father?" Betty asked.
"No," sharply, "certainly not, child. Where's Clement32?"
"Well, I'm afraid he's away."
"Again? Then he is behaving very badly!"
"That was the opinion I was going to give," the girl answered. "That some were behaving better than others."
"If," Arthur cried, "you mean me----"
"There, enough," said her father. "Be silent, Betty. You've no business to be here."
"Still, people should behave themselves," she replied, her eyes sparkling.
Arthur had his answer ready, but Ovington forestalled33 him. "Very good, Rodd," he said. "A word on the side of caution is never out of place in a bank. But I am not blind, and all that you have told me is in my mind. Thank you. You can go now."
It was a dismissal, and Rodd took it as such, and felt, as he had never felt before, his subordinate position. Why he did so, and why, as he withdrew under Arthur's eye, he resented the situation, he best knew. But it is possible that two of the others had some inkling of the cause.
When he had gone, "There's an old woman for you!" Arthur exclaimed. "I wonder that you had the patience to listen to him, sir."
But Ovington shook his head. "I listened because there are times when a straw shows which way the wind blows."
"But you don't think that there is anything in what he said?"
"I shall remember what he said. The time may be coming to take in sail--to keep a good look-out, lad, and be careful. You have been with us--how long? Two years. Ay, but years of expansion, of rising prices, of growing trade. But I have seen other times--other times." He shook his head.
"Still, there is no sign of a change, sir?"
"You've seen one to-day. What is in Rodd's head may be in others, and what is in men's heads soon reflects itself in their conduct."
It was the first word, the first hint, the first presage34 of evil; of a fall, of bad weather, of a storm, distant as yet, and seen even by the clearest eyes only as a cloud no bigger than a man's hand. But the word had been spoken. The hint had been given. And to Arthur, who had paid a high price for prosperity--how high only he could say--the presage seemed an outrage35. The idea that the prosperity he had bought was not a certainty, that the craft on which he had embarked36 his fortune was, like other ships, at the mercy of storm and tempest, that like other ships it might founder37 with all its freight, was entirely38 new to him. So new that for a moment his face betrayed the impression it made. Then he told himself that the thing was incredible, that he started at shadows, and his natural confidence rebounded39. "Oh, damn Rodd!" he cried--and he said it with all his heart. "He's a croaker by nature!"
"Still, we won't damn him," the banker answered mildly. "On the contrary, we will profit by his warning. But go now. I have a letter to write. And do you go, too, Betty, and make tea for us."
He turned to his papers, and Arthur, after a moment's hesitation40, followed Betty into the house. Overtaking her in the hall, "Betty, what is the matter?" he asked. And when the girl took no notice, but went on with her chin in the air as if he had not spoken, he seized her arm. "Come," he said, "I am not going to have this. What is it?"
"What should it be! I don't know what you mean," she retorted.
"Oh yes, you do. What took you--to back up that ass15 in the bank just now?"
Then Betty astonished him. "I didn't think he wanted any backing," she said, her eyes bright. "He seemed to me to talk sense, and someone else nonsense."
"But you're not----"
"A partner in Ovington's? No, Mr. Bourdillon, I am not--thank heaven! And so my head is not turned, and I can keep my temper and mind my manners."
"Oh, it's Mr. Bourdillon now, is it?"
"Yes--if you are going to behave to my friends as you did this afternoon."
"Your friends!" scornfully. "You include Rodd, do you? Rodd, Betty?"
"Yes, I do, and I am not too proud to do so. Nor too proud to be angry when I see a man ten years younger than he is slap him in the face! I am not so spoiled that I think everyone beneath me!"
"So it's Rodd now?"
"It's as much Rodd now," her cheeks hot, her eyes sparkling, "as it was anyone else before! Just as much and just as little. You flatter yourself, sir!"
"But, Betty," in a coaxing41 tone, "little spitfire that you are, can't you guess why I was short with Rodd? Can't you guess why I don't particularly love him? But you do guess. Rodd is what he is--nothing! But when he lifts his eyes above him--when he dares to make eyes at you--I am not going to be silent."
"Now you are impertinent!" she replied. "As impertinent as you were mean before. Yes, mean, mean! When you knew he could not answer you! Mean!"
And without waiting for a reply she ran up the stairs.
He went to one of the windows of the dining-room and looked across Bride Hill and along the High Street, full at that hour of market people. But he did not see them, his thoughts were busy with what had happened. He could not believe that Betty had any feeling for Rodd. The man was dull, commonplace, a plodder42, and not young; he was well over thirty. No, the idea was preposterous43. And it was still more absurd to suppose that if he, Arthur, threw the handkerchief--or even fluttered it in her direction, for dear little thing as she was, he had not quite made up his mind--she would hesitate to accept him, or would let any thought of Rodd weigh with her.
Still, he would let her temper cool, he would not stay to tea. Instead, he would by and by ride his new horse out to the Cottage. He had not been home for the weekend. He had left Mrs. Bourdillon to come to herself and recover her good humor in solitude44. Now he would make it up with her, and while he was there he might as well get a peep at Josina--it was a long time since he had seen her. If Betty chose to adopt this unpleasant line, why, she could not blame him if he amused himself.
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1
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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2
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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3
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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4
plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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5
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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6
retrospect
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| n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯 | |
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7
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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8
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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9
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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10
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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11
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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12
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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13
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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14
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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15
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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16
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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17
overdraft
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| n.透支，透支额 | |
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18
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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19
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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21
ledgers
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| n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 ) | |
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22
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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23
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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24
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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25
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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26
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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27
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
jot
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| n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下 | |
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29
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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30
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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31
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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32
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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33
forestalled
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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35
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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36
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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37
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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38
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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39
rebounded
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| 弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效 | |
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40
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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41
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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42
plodder
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| n.沉重行走的人，辛勤工作的人 | |
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43
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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44
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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