| 142 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 |
| 1 | 51 | 103 | 154 | 205 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
CHAPTER XXI - JIMMY TELLS THE TRUTH.
Mr. Compton returned to the room before Jimmy had discovered whether the
girl intended to expose him or not. She said nothing about the matter during
dinner, and immediately thereafter she excused herself, leaving the two men
alone.
During the conversation that ensued Jimmy discovered that Bince had been
using every argument at his command to induce Compton to let him go, as well
as getting rid of the certified public accountants.
"I can't help but feel," said Compton, "that possibly there may be some reason in
what Mr. Bince says, for he seems to feel more strongly on this subject than
almost any question that has ever arisen in the plant wherein we differed, and it
may be that I am doing wrong to absolutely ignore his wishes in the matter.
"As a matter of fact, Mr. Torrance, I have reached the point where I don't
particularly relish a fight, as I did in the past. I would rather have things run
along smoothly than to have this feeling of unrest and unpleasantness that now
exists in the plant. I do not say that you are to blame for it, but the fact remains
that ever since you came I have been constantly harassed by this same
unpleasant condition which grows worse day by day. There is no question but
what you have accomplished a great deal for us of a practical nature, but I believe
in view of Mr. Bince's feelings in the matter that we had better terminate our
arrangement."
Jimmy suddenly noted how old and tired his employer looked. He realized, too,
that for a week he had been fighting an incipient influenza and that doubtless his
entire mental attitude was influenced by the insidious workings of the disease,
one of the marked symptoms of which he knew to be a feeling of despondency
and mental depression, which sapped both courage and initiative.
144
Page
Quick Jump
|