CHAPTER XX
IN WHICH JOHNNY ASKS HIMSELF WHAT IS A MILLION DOLLARS, ANYWAY
Johnny Gamble in the following days was, as Loring put it, a scene ofintense activity. It was part of his contract with the improvementcompany that he put their subdivision plans under way; and he plantedhimself in the center of the new offices while things circled round himat high speed. His persistent use of the fast-gear clutch came from thefact that he would not bind himself to work for them more than twoweeks.
"They're handing me a shameful salary for it," he confided to Loring,"and I'm glad to get it because it pays up all my personal expensesduring my forty-days' stunt and leaves me my million clear."
"Well," began Loring with a smile, "your million won't be"--he suddenlychecked himself and then went on--"won't be a nice pretty sum of moneyunless it ends in the six round ciphers."
He had been about to tell Johnny that he owed fifteen thousand dollarsto Constance Joy. Loring reflected, however, that this could be paidjust as well after it was all over; that, if he told about it now,Johnny would drop everything to make that extra fifteen thousand; that,moreover, Constance had not yet given him permission to mention thematter; and, besides, there seemed to be a present coolness betweenConstance and Johnny which nobody understood. On the whole, it wasbetter to keep his mouth shut; and he did it.
"It's rather a nice-sounding word,--million," he added by way ofconcealing his hesitation.
"I don't know," returned Johnny, full of his perplexity aboutConstance. "I'm tired of hearing the word. Sometimes it makes me sickto think of it."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" reproached Loring with a laugh.
"All right," agreed Johnny accommodatingly. "I'm used to that anyhow.For one thing, I'm ashamed of being such a sucker. That old partner ofmine not only stung me for every cent I could scrape together for twoyears, but actually had the nerve to try to sell the big tract of landwe irrigated with money."
"To sell it!" exclaimed Loring in surprise.
"That's all," returned Johnny. "He went to the Western DevelopingCompany with it two months ago and had them so worked up that theylooked into the title. They even sent a man out there to investigate."
"Flivver, I suppose?" guessed Loring.
"Rank," corroborated Johnny. "Washburn, of the Western Developing, wastelling me about it yesterday. He said his man took one look at theland and came back offering to go six blocks out of his way on a busyMonday to see Collaton hung."
"We'd get up a party," commented Loring dryly, and Johnny hurried awayto the offices of his Bronx concern.
He was a very unhappy Johnny these days and had but little joy in hismillion. If Constance did not care for it, nor for him, the fun was allgone out of everything. Work was his only relief, and he worked like anengine.
On one day, however, he was careful to do no labor, and that day wasFriday, May nineteenth; Constance's birthday, and he had long plannedto make that a gala occasion.
On the evening preceding he called at the house, but Aunt PattieBoyden, who was more than anxious to have Constance marry the secondcousin of Lord Yawpingham, told him with poorly concealed satisfactionthat Constance was too ill to see him. He imagined that he knew whatthat meant, nevertheless, on the following morning he sent Constance atremendous bouquet and went down into the midst of the crowds at ConeyIsland, where of all places in the world he could be most alone andmost gloomy.
"What's a million dollars anyway?" he asked himself.
At ten o'clock on Saturday morning Mr. Birchard came into the Bronxoffice with much smiling, presented his credentials duly signed by eachof the five Wobbles brothers, received a check for a million dollarsmade out, by the written instructions of the brothers, to Frederick W.Birchard, Agent, and departed still smiling.
"One step nearer," observed Johnny to Loring an hour or so later. "NextSaturday I'll have the remaining two and a half million and will onlypay out one and a half of it. The other million sticks with me."
"The other million?" repeated Loring. "Oh, yes, I see. The half-millionyou advanced and the half-million profit you make on this deal. For howmuch can you write your check now, Johnny?"
"If I wrote a check right this minute, to pay for a postage stamp, itwould go to protest," laughed Johnny. "I guess I can stand it to bebroke for a week though."
"You're a lucky cuss," commended Loring.
"In most things," admitted Johnny half-heartedly.
"In everything," insisted Loring. "By the way, Gresham was over here tosee you yesterday while I was out."
"Gresham?" mused Johnny. "That's curious. He was at the Bronx officeand also at my apartments. I 'phoned this morning, but was told he hadgone out of town for a week."
"You probably missed something very important," returned Loringsarcastically. "Where were you yesterday anyhow?"
"Having a holiday," said Johnny soberly, and escaped.
He wanted work--the more of it the better. He spent the entire week inthe most fatiguing toil he could find, and in that week had no wordfrom Constance Joy except a very brief and coldly-formed note thankinghim for his flowers.
On the following Saturday morning Gresham walked into the Bronx officeswith a particularly smug satisfaction.
"I've come to close up the Wobbles transfer with you," he stated. "I amauthorized formally to make over the property to you and to collect thetwo and a half million remaining to be paid."
"Barring the slight difference of a million dollars the amount iscorrect," replied Johnny dryly. "I have the million and a half balanceready, but I had expected Mr. Birchard to come in and finish thetransaction."
"Birchard is not representing the Wobbleses," Gresham politely informedhim. "I had a little talk with them on the Tuesday following thehouse-party at Courtney's, and they decided to have me look after thematter instead. By the way, I hunted for you everywhere on the daybefore the first payment was due, to tell you that the Wobblesespreferred to have the two and a half million paid all in one sumto-day; but since you were not in I didn't trouble to leave you a note.Very few men need to be told not to pay out money."
"Do you mean to tell me that Mr. Birchard never has represented theWobbles family in this matter?" Johnny managed to ask.
"Certainly not," answered Gresham, widening his eyes.
"I have his signed authorization to act for them in the matter,"declared Johnny, remembering that circumstance with happy relief.
"You have?" inquired Gresham with great apparent surprise. "Will youallow me to look at the paper?"
Johnny showed it to him triumphantly, but Gresham read it with a smileof contempt.
"I was correct in my suspicions of Birchard," he stated. "This documentis a forgery. I hope you did not pay him any money on the strength ofit."
Silently Johnny laid before him Birchard's receipt, and a second lateras he saw the gleam of gratification in Gresham's eyes was sorry thathe had done so.
"I am afraid that you have been swindled," was Gresham's altogether toosympathetic comment. "However, that does not concern the business inhand. This was the day appointed for the final settlement, and I havecome prepared to make it with you."
"You'll have to wait," declared Johnny bluntly, putting away thedocuments.
"I must call your attention to the fact that if you do not close thismatter to-day my principals are at liberty to place the property uponthe market again."
"Advise them not to do so," Johnny warned him. "Under the circumstancesI am certain that I can secure enough delay for investigation--legally,if necessary. I won't move a step until I've looked into this."
"Very well," said Gresham easily, and walked out.
Johnny, in a consternation that was barely short of panic, immediatelyconsulted Loring, and together they set out upon a search for theWobbleses. At their various hotels--for no two of them put up at thesame place--it was discovered that they were severally "probably in thecountry at week-end parties". Tommy alone they found, but he knew solittle and wa
s so upset by what they told him that they were sorry he,too, had not attended a week-end party; and they left him gasping likea sea-lion, with his toupee down over his ear, and saying between gaspsover and over again with perfectly vacant eyes: "Eugene's an ass!Perfect ass, don't you know!"
They spent some hopeless time in attempting to trace Birchard, but thatgentleman had disappeared on the previous Saturday. No one had seen himor had heard of him or had thought of him. They put the case into thehands of detectives, and gave up hope.
"I don't think it was lucky money any-how," said Johnny gloomily.Constance had not cared for it and it was worthless!
It was not until Monday that they found Eugene Wobbles, and thatvoluntary expatriate was almost as much taken aback as his brotherTommy had been.
"Ow, I say, it's most extraordinary!" he declared, stroking hisdrooping mustache and swinging his monocle. "Why, do you know, I metthe blooming bounder at Lord Yawp'n'am's--second cousin, you know, ofthis very decent chap, Gresham. Introduced him at my clubs and all thatsort of thing, I assure you! I'll have the burning scoundrelblacklisted!"
"Thanks," said Loring with deep gratitude. "Of course that won't getback the million though."
"Well, I'm bound to give you the right there," admitted Eugene, "but atthe same time I must insist that it will cut the beggar never to beallowed the privileges of a gentleman's club again."
"And serve him right, I say; even jolly well right," agreed Loring witha sarcasm that was altogether lost and was intended to be.
"I must say that our friend Gresham has behaved well in the matter,"added Eugene. "Birth and breeding are bound to tell. I fancy every onewill admit that. What?"
"They tell a great deal," returned Loring dryly. "What did our friendGresham do that was so decent?"
"Ow, yes," Eugene was reminded, "we were discussing that, weren't we?Well, at our friend Courtney's house-party, Gresham was all forBirchard to handle this business; fairly forced him on us, don't youknow; but on Tuesday he came to us much pained, I assure you, and inthe greatest confidence told us he was sure the beggar was not the manfor the place. Been mixed up in a rotten money scandal or so, don't youknow."
"So you discharged Birchard," Loring surmised, keenly interested.
"Well, not exactly," replied Eugene. "You see it wasn't necessary. Wenever had definitely appointed him. Come to think, neither he norGresham insisted on it; and, anyhow, the fellow never came back to us."
"I see," said Loring softly with a glance at Johnny. "So, you beingwithout an agent, Gresham kindly consented to act for you--withoutcommission."
"Ow, yes, certainly, without commission," agreed Eugene. "Very decentindeed of him, now, wasn't it?"
"Almost pathetic," admitted Loring. "Well, Johnny," he said as theywent back to the office, "you're up against it. While Birchard wasforging the papers to get your million Gresham was establishing analibi for himself. The only thing I see for you to do--besides layingfor Gresham--is to repudiate this entire deal and get back as much ofyour half-million as you can."
"And owe the rest of it to my friends?" demanded Johnny. "Not any. I'llpay over the two and a half million I have on hand, complete the dealand stand the loss myself. I'll be broke, but I won't owe anybody."
Loring looked at him with sudden pity. "You'll have to take a freshstart," he advised as lightly as possible, since one did not like to becaught expressing pity to Johnny. "You have two days left."
"Guess again!" directed Johnny. "One of them's a holiday--DecorationDay--to-morrow."
"Tough luck, old man!" said Loring.
"I didn't care for the million, Loring," declared Johnny wearily,driven for the first time to an open confession.
"I know," agreed Loring gently, still suffering from his own hurt. "Itwas Constance. She may not be so keen for that million as you think."
Johnny shook his head sadly.
"I know she isn't," he admitted. "That's the hard part of it. Shedidn't seem to care when I had it--not for it or for me. Up to thattime I thought there was a chance. Now the loss of this money doesn'treally hurt. What good would a million dollars do me?"
They had reached the office by this time and made themselves busy withthe final papers. Presently came Gresham and all the Wobbleses,concluded their business, and took their two and a half million dollarsand happily departed.
Loring glared after Gresham in a fury of anger. He had seen thatgentleman, before he left, slip a square white card under the papers onJohnny's desk; and, though he did not conjecture what the card mightbe, he knew from the curl of Gresham's lips that it meant some coverttrick or insult. Turning, he was about indignantly to call Johnny'sattention to the circumstance when the beaming expression upon hisfriend's face stopped him, and sealed any explanation that might haverisen to his lips. Johnny had found the card and was reading it withglistening eyes.
"Constance Joy!" he said delightedly. "She must have called." He waslost in pleasant thought for a moment or so and then he looked eagerlyup at Loring with: "I wonder if there isn't some way, besidesBirchard's, that a fellow could make a million dollars in a day!"