At last, and promptly at twelve o’clock, came Messrs. Greaves and Henshaw, accompanied by Johnson, Rider, Calthorpe, and Delafield, of the Traffic Electrical Company; Mr. Calthorpe being its chairman, Mr. Rider its vice-chairman, and Mr. Johnson its solicitor.
And all were not a little impressed as, coming at last into the presence of the great man himself, they found him, sitting behind his desk, attended right and left by his lawyer and all of his assistants.
Cowperwood rose and greeted both Greaves and Henshaw very cordially, and they, in turn, with the assistance of Jarkins and Sippens, introduced the members of each group.
But it was Johnson who held the attention of both Cowperwood and Sippens, Cowperwood because of his connections and Sippens because on sight he sensed a rival.
The authoritativeness of the man, the almost august manner in which he cleared his throat and looked around inquiringly, as if he were a scientist examining insects, infuriated Sippens.
And it was Johnson who opened the discussion.
“Well, Mr. Cowperwood and gentlemen,” he began, “I believe we all fully understand the nature of what is to take place here.
Therefore, the sooner we begin, the sooner we will be through.”
(“You don’t say!” commented Sippens to himself.)
“Yes, I believe that’s a good idea,” said Cowperwood. And pushing a button, he ordered Jamieson to bring in his official checkbook as well as the temporary agreements.
Johnson now took from a square leather bag—which was carried by an office boy who walked at his heels—the several books of the Traffic Electrical Company, its official seal, together with the act, and placed all upon Cowperwood’s desk.
And Cowperwood, flanked by Bristol and Kitteredge, proceeded to examine them.
After checking over various commitments, decisions, expenditures, Greaves produced their option to buy, and the company, through its officers, attested to its validity.
Mr. Delafield, as secretary and treasurer of Traffic Electrical Company, produced a copy of the act establishing their right to construct the line.
Whereupon, a Mr. Blandish, of the London and County Bank, arrived with a certificate of deposit in favor of Frank Algernon Cowperwood for ?60,000 in British consols then and there in that bank.
These the bank would surrender to him in exchange for his check for that amount.
Cowperwood then signed and handed to Messrs. Greaves and Henshaw his check for ?30,000 which by then was endorsed to Traffic Electrical Company.
The company, through its officers, endorsed it to Cowperwood.
Whereupon he wrote his check for ?60,000, and for that took over from the London and County Bank its legal acknowledgment of his ownership of the consols.
After this, he handed Greaves a duly attested and guaranteed one-year’s non-negotiable agreement.
The meeting then closed, with an atmosphere of enthusiasm which was hardly to be explained by the business of the moment.
The explanation of this was the personality of Cowperwood and its effect on all those present.
Calthorpe, the chairman of Traffic Electrical, for instance, a blond and stocky man of fifty, had come stuffed with prejudice against any American attempting to manage a London railway property.
Nevertheless, it was plainly evident that he was impressed by Cowperwood’s dynamic alertness.
Rider studied Cowperwood’s clothes, taking note of his beautifully set jade cuff links, his dark tan shoes, and his well-tailored sand-colored suit.
Obviously, America was producing a new and distinct type.
Here was a man who could, if he wished, become a great force in London’s affairs.
Johnson thought Cowperwood had handled the situation with shrewdness and even an agreeable cunning.
The man was ruthless, but in a way which the jumbled interests and oppositions of life required.
He was about to leave when Cowperwood came over to him.
“From what I hear, Mr. Johnson, you are personally interested in this underground situation,” he said, smiling a cordial smile.
“Yes, to some extent,” replied Johnson, civilly, and yet with caution.
“My lawyers have informed me,” continued Cowperwood, “that you are more or less of an expert in the traction franchise field here.
You see, I have been trained on the other side, and this is all new ground to me.
If you have no objection, I would like to talk with you further.
Perhaps we could have lunch or dinner together, either at my hotel or some place where we would not be likely to be interrupted.”
They agreed upon Brown’s Hotel for Tuesday evening of the following week.
Alone with Sippens after, they had all left, Cowperwood turned to him and said:
“Well, there you are, De Sota!
We’ve just bought a lot more trouble.
What do you think of these Englishmen, anyway?”
“Oh, they’re all well enough where they’re dealing with each other,” said Sippens, still irritated by Johnson’s manner, “but you’ll never see the day when you won’t have to look out for them, Chief.
Your surest support will be the men you yourself have trained.”
“I guess you’re right, De Sota,” said Cowperwood, sensing what was in Sippens’ mind.
“But I’m not sure that I won’t have to include some of these fellows over here, to make everything smooth and right.
They can’t be expected to stand for too many of us all at once.
You know that.”
“True enough, Chief, but you want enough Americans to keep them from catching you napping!”
But there was revolving in Cowperwood’s mind the thought that what perhaps was needed was a loyal and enthusiastic English group, men like this Johnson and Greaves and Henshaw, and even that quiet fellow, Rider, who had studied him so carefully but said nothing.
In this rapid series of developments, some of these longtime American connections might lose value.