I said, “Mr. Baker, we don’t need to go over the background. You know better than I do the slow, precise way in which my father lost the Hawley substance. I was away at war. How did it happen?”
“It wasn’t his intention, but his judgment—”
“I know he was unworldly—but how did it happen?”
“Well, it was a time of wild investment. He invested wildly.”
“Did he have any advice?”
“He put money in munitions that were already obsolete. Then when the contracts were canceled, he lost.”
“You were in Washington. Did you know about the contracts?”
“Only in a general way.”
“But enough so you didn’t invest.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Did you advise my father about investments?”
“I was in Washington.”
“But you knew he had borrowed the money on the Hawley property, the money to invest?”
“Yes, I knew that.”
“Did you advise against it?”
“I was in Washington.”
“But your bank foreclosed.”
“A bank doesn’t have any choice, Ethan. You know that.”
“Yes, I know. Only it’s a shame you couldn’t have advised him.”
“You shouldn’t blame him, Ethan.”
“Now that I understand it, I don’t. I didn’t mean to blame him, but I never quite knew what happened.”
I think Mr. Baker had prepared an opening. Having lost his chance, he had to grope about for his next move. He coughed, blew his nose and wiped it with a paper handkerchief from a flat pocket package, wiped his eyes with a second sheet, polished his glasses with a third. Everyone has his own method for gaining time. I’ve known a man to take five minutes to fill and light a pipe.
When he was ready again, I said, “I know I have no right in myself to ask you for help. But you yourself brought up the long partnership of our families.”
“Good people,” he said. “And usually men of excellent judgment, conservative—”
“But not blindly so, sir. I believe that once they decided on a course they drove through.”
“That they did.”
“Even if it came to sinking an enemy—or burning a ship?”
“They were commissioned, of course.”
“In 1801, I believe, sir, they were questioned about what constituted an enemy.”
“There’s always some readjustment after a war.”
“Surely. But I’m not taking up old scores for talk. Frankly, Mr. Baker, I want to—to rehabilitate my fortunes.”
“That’s the spirit, Ethan. For a time I thought you’d lost the old Hawley touch.”
“I had; or maybe I’d not developed it. You’ve offered help. Where do I start?”
“The trouble is, you need capital to start.”
“I know that. But if I had some capital, where would I start?”
“This must be tiresome for the ladies,” he said. “Maybe we should go into the library. Business is dull to ladies.”
Mrs. Baker stood up. “I was just about to ask Mary to help me select some wallpaper for the big bedroom. The samples are upstairs, Mary.”
“I’d like Mary to hear—”
But she went along with them, as I knew she would. “I don’t know a thing about business,” she said. “But I do know about wallpaper.”
“But you’re concerned, darling.”
“I just get mixed up, Ethan. You know I do.”
“Maybe I’ll get more mixed up without you, darling.”
Mr. Baker had probably suggested the wallpaper bit. I think his wife does not choose the paper. Surely no woman picked the dark and geometric paper in the room where we sat.
“Now,” he said when they were gone, “your problem is capital, Ethan. Your house is clear. You can mortgage it.”
“I won’t do that.”
“Well, I can respect that, but it’s the only collateral you have. There is also Mary’s money. It’s not much, but with some money you can get more money.”
“I don’t want to touch her money. That’s her safety.”
“It’s in a joint account and it’s not earning anything.”
“Let’s say I overcame my scruples. What have you in mind?”
“Have you any idea what her mother’s worth?”
“No—but it seems substantial.”
He cleaned his glasses with great care. “What I say is bound to be in confidence.”
“Of course.”
“Fortunately I know you are not a talker. No Hawley ever was, except perhaps your father. Now, I know as a businessman that New Baytown is going to grow. It has everything to make it grow—a harbor, beaches, inland waters. Once it starts, nothing can stop it. A good businessman owes it to his town to help it develop.”
“And take a profit.”
“Naturally.”
“Why hasn’t it developed?”
“I think you know that—the mossbacks on the council. They’re living in the past. They hold back progress.”
It always interested me to hear how philanthropic the taking of a profit can be. Stripped of its forward-looking, good-of-the-community clothing, Mr. Baker’s place was just what it had to be. He and a few others, a very few, would support the town’s present administrations until they had bought or controlled all the future facilities. Then they would turn the council and the Town Manager out and let progress reign, and only then would it be discovered that they owned every avenue through which it could come. From pure sentiment, he was willing to cut me in for a small share. I don’t know whether or not he had intended to let me know the timetable, or whether his enthusiasm got the better of him, but it did come through the generalities. The town election is July seventh. By that time, the forward-looking group must have the wheels of progress under control.
I don’t suppose there is a man in the world who doesn’t love to give advice. As I maintained a small reluctance, my teacher grew more vehement and more specific.
“I’ll have to think about it, sir,” I said. “What’s easy for you is a mystery to me. And of course I’ll have to discuss it with Mary.”
“Now that’s where I think you’re wrong,” he said. “There’s too much petticoat in business today.”
“But it’s her inheritance.”
“Best thing you can do for her is make her some money for a surprise. They like it better that way.”
“I hope I don’t sound ungrateful, Mr. Baker. I think slowly. I’ll just have to mull it over. Did you hear Marullo is going to Italy?”
His eyes sharpened. “For good?”
“No, just a visit.”
“Well, I hope he makes some arrangement to protect you in case something happened to him. He’s not a young man. Has he made a will?”
“I don’t know.”
“If a bunch of his wop relations moved in, you might find yourself out of a job.”
I retired into a protective vagueness. “You’ve given me a lot to chew on,” I said. “But I wonder if you can give me some little idea of when you will start.”
“I can tell you this: Development is pretty much dependent on transportation.”
“Well, the big thruways are moving out.”
“Still a long way to come. The kind of men with the kind of money we want to attract will want to come by air.”
“And we have no airport?”
“That’s right.”
“Furthermore, we have no place for an airport without pushing hills around.”
“An expensive operation. The cost of labor would be prohibitive.”
“Then what is your plan?”
“Ethan, you’ll have to trust me and forgive me. I can’t tell you that at this time. But I do promise that if you can raise some capital, I’ll see that you get in on the ground floor. And I can tell you that there is a very definite situation, but it has to be solved.”