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Can You Run Your Business with Blood, Sweat, and Tears?
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published in 2018 by Business Expert Press, LLC 222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017 www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-63157-795-6 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-63157-796-3 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Collection
Collection ISSN: 1946-5653 (print)
Collection ISSN: 1946-5661 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India
First edition: 2018
in the United States of America.
Dedication
For Eddie and Leia
Brand
Leadership
Opportunity
Outcome
Decisions
Abstract
What does it take to successfully lead and manage a business or a team? Management consultant and HR specialist Stephen-Elkins Jarrett and organizational development consultant Nick Skinner share their combined experience of how mastery of 15 key areas can help you drive your business, team, or even yourself to success. Presented using the acronym of BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS, this book, presented in three volumes, aligns some established models with common sense to give a practical view with tools and tips gained over years of working across different industries and sectors. At the heart of the book is the fascinating study of behavior, discussed through the SPECTRUM model of behavior, showing how by treating others in the way that they want to be treated, we can engage, develop, and lead them to achieve meaningful goals.
Stephen and Nick have packed a huge amount into these three volumes. Their years of business consulting experience is evident as they make every element wholly understandable and immensely practical—this is not a book about business theory; it is a book to be put into immediate action.
Using the acronym B-L-O-O-D S-W-E-A-T-and-T-E-A-R-S, they consider 16 areas of importance in business success (the “and” is an important area, hence 16) and within these incorporate aspects as disparate as time management, presentation skills, work–life balance, vision, and performance management, in addition to the chapter titles such as Brand, Leadership, Opportunities, and so forth using illustrations from areas as diverse as Psychology and Star Wars.
Running through the book is the recurring theme of understanding and appreciating human behavior in its many facets. They expound “Spectrum” behavioral psychometric, which fits with the themes of their book—approachable, easy to understand, and practical. All other Jungian models would also work, but I agree with them that Spectrum’s simplicity enhances the ability to apply the learning effortlessly and across all cultures.
Throughout the chapters, they make use of well-known, tried-andtested theories including Tuckman, Maslow, Kotter, and Hersey & Blanchard—only models and structures that have stood the test of time rather than any that are likely to be in vogue today and forgotten tomorrow. Within these, they give their own adaptations and developments driven by decades of management consulting experience, which make them more practical and more applicable.
If you are looking for a book that covers a wide range of criteria for business success and is eminently readable, down-to-earth, practical, and
developed through the crucible of decades of experience, Blood, Sweat, and Tears is a wise choice.
Stephen Berry
MBA, MSc, BSc(Hons), FCMA, CGMA, ACIB, DipFS, PgD
Author of Strategies of the Serengeti (2006; 2nd ed., 2010) and Teach Yourself Strategy in a Week (2012; 2nd ed., 2016)
Introduction to the Trilogy—Blood, Sweat, and Tears
“I have nothing to offer except blood, sweat and tears!” paraphrased from a speech given to the UK houses of parliament in the dark days of 1940 by Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Hello and welcome to Blood, Sweat, and Tears! Why did we write it? What is it all about? And who the heck are these guys anyway?
Stephen’s Story
My story: I have been working since I was 16. My background is strange but has given me a unique insight into the commercial world that others don’t get. I did not have a classic educational background. My parents divorced when I was 11. My father was in sales and my mother a sports teacher and legal secretary. At 16 my mother said leave school and go to work, we need the money. I trained as a chef, day release at Slough College, near Heathrow airport, I left after I had completed my OND and HND (Ordinary and Higher National Diplomas) to work with my father in the construction industry. I qualified in NFBPM at Diploma level. At the same time, I was involved in Amateur Dramatics. While in a play, I was approached by a director who asked me if I fancied quitting my job to be his personal assistant and learn his trade from the bottom. He was a Coopers & Lybrand Management Consultant, now running his own business. This was a single act of kindness that changed my world forever. I went to night school to do my A levels, did a distance learning degree with UEL in Industrial Psychology—now called Organizational. Then qualified in Psychometrics, Life Coaching, NLP, CBT, did a advanced diploma in organizational psychology at Oxford learning, and then finally got my Masters in Organizational Psychology just a few years ago. Parallel to this I worked full time for Mike at Manskill Associates,
watching, learning, listening, and delivering soft skill training, facilitated workshops, strategy workshops, leadership development, management, and supervisory training and coaching. I also joined the CIPD and learned everything I could about HR and worked in HR departments as an interim for some great HR directors such as Julie Sutton and Talent Directors such as Joanne Rye. I worked as an interim HR director, HR manager, employee relations manager, caseworker, a TUPE project manager, change, takeovers, mergers, and acquisitions. I saw and learned more from this strange and unusual journey through the commercial world than I would have done with a “proper job” as my wife calls it and in a traditional career along the way. I worked in the fields of catering, hospitality, healthcare, pharmaceutical, scientific institutions, and laboratories. I worked in construction, property, IT, finance, banking, FMCG, utilities, high-voltage power stations, supermarkets, motor industry, and several others, delivering soft skills training, group facilitation, coaching, team work, team building, and more. I worked in the biggest and the smallest and everything in between, and one thing remained constant for me—it is all the same. When recruiters look for someone with managerial experience in a certain industry, any manager could learn the new job and man management skills remain a constant; 80 percent is behaviors and 20 percent technical skills and knowledge and you can learn this bit as you go. Richard Branson said, “If anyone asks you if you can do this job, say yes and then learn it as you go.” He has always done this.
Nick’s Story
My story is almost the opposite; raised in Hertfordshire I scrapped the grades needed to do a first degree before taking a graduate job providing business and project accounting support to scientists. This was the late 1980s and the UK was still reeling from the impacts of Thatcherism, where large swaths of the UK infrastructure that had traditionally been operated using public money were being forced down a route that made them think more commercially. The reaction to the kind of externally and politically induced change created an organizational stress that taught me a lot. I realized quickly that while finance was important there was more to business than the accountants’ view. Hence, I shifted away from finance and
into broader business commercial management, completing an MBA with distinction in 1997 from the University of Hertfordshire and then shifting my career to London to work in the field of commercializing intellectual property, working as a business administrator for a spin-out company commercializing breakthroughs in cancer technology, developing plans for seed funds, and managing a large network of technology transfer stakeholders. Again, in this role I was providing commercial and business support to some very clever scientists. I moved back into agricultural sciences in 1999, working on business plans and change programs in that sphere for the next 13 years. It was a long time, but there were so many projects and exciting new businesses being developed that it was really more like four or five different jobs. Certainly, by the time I moved on from there I had earned my projects management wings, acting as the leader of many change programs which (mostly) went according to plan. There were some car crashes of course, but they got fewer, so I must have been getting better! Sometime while there I attended an eye-opening training program and came across some very bright cookies doing organizational development at Roffey Park. My training with these guys made me finally realize that what really goes on in business is a human interaction, and that to get great outcomes in business all you needed was great humans. Then it all started to fall in place. Great business outcomes are about great people, so if all humans are great this should be easy right? Wrong! There’s so much that we humans create and fantasize about and are scared of that prevents us from being at our best. I strongly believe that organizations that can remove these blocks and find a proper level of human connection can build trust, and once you have trust then we can really start to go places. I took an MSc in organizational and people development through Roffey Park and in 2012 backed my learning with the establishment of Poppyfish People Development, fulfilling a career dream of helping business capitalize on the potential of the human in the system and engaging in client work across multiple industries and coming across Steve Jarrett and his SPECTRUM model in 2013. As opposites attract we make a good team.
Coming Together
We met when a mutual friend and client, Ian Cresswell, a people-focused leader to whom we are both indebted, intuitively thought we would work
well together in his organization. We did. Nick is more cautious and careful, methodical, analytical, and checks everything, and Stephen dives in, cracks on, and says, “Everything will be alright in the end, if it is not alright it is not the end!” (Indian Proverb). Stephen thinks getting stuck in is the answer and Nick knows that to reflect and think about it first often gets a better outcome. Nick acts as the brake to Stephen’s accelerator pedal and on average we work off each other well. Like many relationships the only challenges come when we both want to steer. We both believe in the power of dreams and that positivity and energy really count for something.
Our work together has been varied, challenging, but always rewarding, working as coaches, consultants, trainers, facilitators, and leaders of learning and behavior change for many individuals, teams, and businesses. In a nutshell, we help our clients align people performance with organization performance. We do this in many different industry sectors, including technical services, information technology, scientific research, start-ups, and construction. We don’t spend much on marketing; instead, our growth has been through word of mouth and personal recommendation. We think that is important. It’s part of our own brand.
We are guided by the simple principle that the best people build the best businesses. In a world increasingly driven by technical development and big data, workplaces remain a human environment. The performance of your business depends massively upon the talents, motivations, and behaviors of the people that work within it.
We want to see those people at their best, in a space where their talents shine.
To work with us is to recognize that each of us has our own dreams, aspirations, and desires, and that if we can tap into this rich vein of motivation then we can all fly. Our motives for writing this book are to capture some of the “common sense” activities that we think make a difference to how businesses perform. Most of what you will read here is not rocket science, but it is hopefully practical and resonates enough with your own experiences to allow you to feel confident and capable at making great things happen. It’s a chance for us to share what we have learnt through the blood, sweat, and tears of our work, and hope that you find the content rewarding.
INTRODUCTION TO THE TRILOGY—BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS xix
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Blood, Sweat, and Tears is a simple to follow trilogy of books, with most of the advice you could need to develop, grow, and succeed as a manger or leader in any team or business from a one-man self-employed person to a large enterprise. The ideas in this book have come about after many years of consulting practice—working with the great, the good (and even the bad). From seeing businesses fail and learning from their mistakes through to businesses that did great things and were successful the authors have picked up the best practices and principles that guide success. This book attempts to share our learning. The principles, ideas, and ways of thinking that are outlined in these pages will help to focus your thinking with regard to self-development, team development, and business development.
According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. A whopping 80 percent crash and burn after having the chance to send out only one lot of corporate Christmas cards. But why? The reasons that businesses fail are painful inasmuch as many of them are easily avoided.
At the surface level the primary reason businesses fail is that they run out of cash. But the reasons for that are deeper than apparent shallowness of the cash drawer. In our combined lives as consultants we have seen plenty, advised many, and been ignored by lots!
How can you avoid these failures? Only through the application of blood, sweat, and tears.
We have created BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS as an acronym for all the things that you can do that will help to drive success—setting out attitudes, behaviors, and practices that you can follow to help you achieve your and your company’s goals. The ideas are developed throughout the following pages, with each letter of the acronym given its own chapter.
The acronym explained:
Book One
BLOOD is the life source of your success:
B stands for BRAND: Can you build the right brand for you and your business and demonstrate alignment between the two?
L stands for LEADERSHIP: Do you have the right skills to understand the needs of others and get the best out of yourself and your team?
O stands for OPPORTUNITIES: Can you manage the process of generating leads and prospects and take advantages of the opportunities that will grow your business?
O stands for OUTCOMES: Are you focusing on the right outcomes to hit your goals? How do you set goals and objectives?
D is for DECISIONS: Can you make the right decisions that lead to success?
Book Two
SWEAT are the exercises that you should constantly focus on.
S stands for STRATEGIC DIRECTION: Do you have the right vision, mission, strategy, and structure for your business to succeed?
W stands for WHAT IF? Do you know what to do in those “What If. . .” moments? Can you and your team be resilient or forward thinking enough to take steps to avoid confusion and chaos in a fast-changing world?
E stands for EVIDENCE: Can you find the evidence to back your intuition? What can you do to get the information you need to act for the best?
A stands for ACTION: Can you overcome the urge to procrastinate and take action when you need to?
T stands for TIME: Can you get your timings right and manage everything you have to do in a way that keeps you in control?
Don’t forget “and”: don’t forget yourself and enjoyment and quality time and family and friends, etc.
Book Three
TEARS are the things that will refresh and reward you.
T stands for TRAINING: Are you training the right people in the right way—the essential tool that makes you ready to cope with the demand of tomorrow? Train people all the time and so they can leave—then treat them so they don’t want to!
E is for ENCOURAGEMENT: To get the best out of others you must know what drives and motivates them. Can you give encouragement to others and know where to find your own?
A stands for ANNOUNCEMENTS: DO you announce the important things in the right way? How can you present for maximum impact?
R stands for REVIEW: Do you take time to reflect and review the past with an eye on the future? Take time at each step of the way to look back what you have achieved, what you can learn from it, and how this can help you for future planning.
S stands for SUCCESS: Can you deliver success for you, your team, and your business? How will you know you are succeeding and what to do next? Taking time to enjoy your successes has a narcotic effect, leaving you wanting more!
Our experience tells us that this is what makes a difference in successful organization. If you get it right the benefits can be stunning. Here’s what happens if you get it wrong:
If you cannot identify or build your BRAND then you’ll be faced with confused customers and staff who don’t really know what the business (or you if you are the brand) stands for, you’ll have to accept that others will define it for you.
If you do not develop the right LEADERSHIP skills, you will create anxiety and frustration for others and increase the propensity for false starts and you will have to accept that people will be frustrated. You will start to lose people, starting with the best ones first.
If you fail to act on OPPORTUNITIES, then you can expect finances to take a direct hit. The implications of this are obvious. While this is playing out you will generate anxiety for people who will realize that the writing is on the wall.
If you fail to identify the right OUTCOMES, then people do the wrong thing. False starts happen, and people get frustrated and confused. You cannot track progress. Tasks never finish. Morale drops. People leave. And so do customers.
If you struggle with DECISIONS, then you can expect people to get frustrated and for confusion to reign. Lack of decision making provokes anxiety and slows your business down.
If you fail to define and communicate a STRATEGIC DIRECTION, then chaos abounds. Your business becomes a lawless territory without guidance or a moral compass. People make up their own strategy and
resist your efforts to pull them away from that because they do not know any better. You will never have buy in and without buy in you will be in a state of constant confusion. You will also be handing over control to the micro-managers.
If you fail to spot and train yourselves for the WHAT IF . . . moments, then you will create anxiety as people will not feel equipped to deal with change and you will be left behind by the world. You also risk jeopardizing your business by reducing its resilience to the point where the slightest wave or market tremor could threaten its existence.
If you fail to secure EVIDENCE for changes you will cause frustration and run the risk of a number of false starts where you thought you were doing the right thing but, as it turns out, you are not. Oops. More prework and evidence might have helped. You’ll also have egg on your face and could have just cost the business lots of money.
If you fail to take ACTION, you will condemn your business or project to the scrapheap of time. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so they say. So, sort out your project plan and make it happen.
If you fail to get your TIMINGS right you will create inefficiencies, frustration, and will probably lose money. Tasks will slip. And if you ask people to do what they see as the wrong thing at the wrong time you will encounter resistance. Resistance is not futile, that’s why we do it.
If you fail to TRAIN your people, then your plans will be sabotaged by people who cannot do what you ask of them and who will not be able to grow themselves at a rate that allows them to deliver any growth to your business. People will be frustrated and will not feel important. Good people will leave while the less able struggle. As the old cliché goes: What if we train our people and they leave? Well, what if we don’t train them and they stay?
Failure to ENCOURAGE people leads to alienation at work and development and strategic goals not being met. In addition, negativity will seep into the workplace and will be visible to customers. A negative team is a poor performing team. You also run the risk of sabotage, where people dig their heels in to actively prevent and delay progress (yes, it does happen!).
If you fail to ANNOUNCE what you are doing, then you risk people putting their own reasons behind your motives. Nobody likes surprises
and when people see the action but without knowing the reasons they have no chance to buy in, no chance to support, or even realize what is going on. This creates resistance and can even promote fear as people often fantasize about losing their jobs.
If you fail to REVIEW then you are condemning yourself to repeating the same old mistakes again and again. Doing the same thing time after time and expecting a different outcome each time is a first definition of madness.
And if you fail to SUCCEED then celebrate small wins (because they will always be there) and keep trying, keep working, and think about which of the other 14 areas you needed to work at.
What about the “And?”
But what about that small conjunctive in the middle? The word “and.” The word “and” is the glue that effortlessly ties everything together. It gives the three words meaning. Without the word “and” the three words BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS appear nothing more than a list. But when we bring in the conjunctive “and” the three suddenly have cumulated impact, allowing the three to come together in a more powerful way. So, the “and” is more than just a word, it actually means something and pulls the concept together.
To this end we have devoted a chapter to the “and.” So, what is it? In our view the “and” is the personal strength, power, and dedication that you will bring to your working world when you are at your best. The “and” includes your own metal health and physical well-being, it includes looking after your family and those around you and finding equal space in your life for all things.
So, read on. Challenge your mind to think creatively about how you can embed these ideas into your everyday thinking, thinking that will help you to define your vision and identify your product, price it correctly, take it to market, get business, make a profit, keep your customers wanting more, motivate and inspire your staff, delight your suppliers, reward your stakeholders and your loved ones, and give you a sense of satisfaction and delight in who you are and what you have achieved.
Our Methods
Throughout this book we employ some old techniques tried and tested since the ancient Greeks and developed further by a multitude of respected gurus, psychologists, organizational development theorists, coaches, management consultants, and successful businessmen and women from around the world. But we also give you new ideas and our latest thinking on some blended approaches which we have used and which we know work. We will give you war stories of where things didn’t work—and companies got it so wrong—and compare these to where they got it so right and share that best practices with you, giving you the best chance to set up and run your business or team successfully. We will introduce you to some models to help you conceptualize some of the more important areas.
How you use this book is up to you. You can read the book cover to cover in chapter order or jump directly to the area where you need help today and use it as a standalone chapter without the rest of the book holding you! So, if you just want to target specific areas then of course you can.
We hope very much that you enjoy BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS and that you can use it to fuel a wonderful success story.
Steve Elkins-Jarrett and Nick Skinner
London
April 2018
CHAPTER 1
An Introduction to Behavior and the SPECTRUM Model
Before we get started with Blood, Sweat, and Tears we need to introduce an important concept. Much of this book is about behavior. It is about what you can do to get the best outcomes for you and your business, and how you can do it. “Doing” things involves behavior.
What Is Behavior?
Behavior can be defined as the combination of what you do, what you say, how you say it, and what facial expressions and body language you use in the process. On the basis of these elements, other people make assessments and judgments of you, and you make assessments and judgments about them, both consciously and subconsciously. Our behaviors are complex and open to many influences. Our education, our environment, our role models, our genetic heritage, our situation, our culture, our values, and our society’s rules all combine to shape our behavior. However, behavior is not set in stone. It is a choice. You can choose, and therefore change, what you do, what you say, how you say it, and what facial expressions and body language you use. The ability to choose or adapt your own behavior can generate a major increase in personal effectiveness. The key to development is being aware of, and able to use, the most appropriate behavior for a situation. Man has studied behavior for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks compared human behavior to earth, water, fire, and air. Freud, Jung, Fromm, Rodgers, and Pavlov have been fascinated by behavior. Psychologists have labeled behavioral types with words. Some of these models are lost to time, like Mar’s facial shapes or Pavlov’s canine types. Others such
as Eric Fromm’s work dating back to the 1930s and work that appeared in the second half of the last century, such as Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DISC, and LIFO, are still very popular in the Western world as management tools. The unkind observer would look at our world from the outside and say that all these profiles are pretty similar. And the truth is that, to a point, that observer would be right. The MBTI focuses on four dimensions of personality: our preference for the inner or the outer world, the way we gather information, the way we make decisions, and how we organize and structure our lives. It then combines these to 16 personality types that are extracted. It’s a highly technical model that can be challenging to remember. People who have taken it can normally remember what the first letter indicates; E for extrovert or I for introvert, but the other two letters are less well retained. Another common tool also known by its acronym, DISC, focuses on four essential behavioral preferences determined from outgoing or reserved personality traits versus task focus or people focus. From these dimensions the model describes an individual in terms of: Dominant, Inspiring, Supportive, and Cautious. A third model, LIFO, presents a situational assessment of behavior classified into four leadership preferences: Supporting giving (SG), Controlling taking (CT), Conserving holding (CH), and Adapting dealing (AD). These are all excellent models and worthy of use. The problem though with many of these models is that you need to be “qualified” to be permitted to use them, which is costly to administer. Our preferred model of behavior, SPECTRUM, that we refer to throughout this book, is based on colors not words and, we believe, is less expensive, more practical, easier to use and explain, and has the great advantage that it is understandable by all staff at all levels from day one. We’ve used it with many, many clients with great success, from Board Members to Refuse Operatives with equal impact. You think behavioral models are complicated and confusing, and that maybe you need a degree in Psychology to understand them? Well, SPECTRUM is different. It does not categorize you into introvert or extrovert but rather categorizes you on a continuum or spectrum between the two extremes. It also blends four primary colors of Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue into 18 styles each labeled with a color suggesting the mix of colors used. No one else does this.
The SPECTRUM Model
SPECTRUM is a behavioral model designed to help us understand more about an individual’s behavior. Organizations and teams, as aggregates of individuals, therefore can be said to exhibit their own behavioral norms and preferences, which gives an indication of culture.
The SPECTRUM evaluation1 uses a simple system of colors to explain our different behavioral preferences and tendencies. The four basic colors—RED, GREEN, BLUE, and YELLOW, give us the overview. Your responses to the questionnaire will generate two colors being assigned to you. One color for “normal” behavior and one for “stressed” behavior. The colors are easy to understand:
Think of RED—what do you imagine? Fire, Blood, Heat, Danger. Change these words for assertive, risk taking, hot headed, strong minded, action oriented, and you have a short profile of red behavior.
Think of BLUE and you could be thinking cold, water, sky, icebergs. Substitute these words for calculating, calm, unemotional, logical thinking, and safety and you have blue behaviors.
GREEN might include nature, trees, ecological ideals, peace. Substitute these words for friendly, growing relationships, strong ideals of fairness, and justice and you can understand how someone with a “green” preference may behave.
Lastly, imagine YELLOW and you may see the sun, brightness, and maybe gold. Substitute these words for positive, smile, warm, and happy and you will see the key characteristics of yellow behavior.
The theory here is that if you understand yourself , then you can learn how to tune into others, and for the first time we introduce and ask you to understand and keep in mind this important phrase: “We are taught as children to treat others the way that WE would like to be treated, this is wrong! We have to start treating others as THEY would like to be treated!”
1Spectrum is outlined in full in the book Across the Spectrum, What Colour Are You by Stephen ElkinsJarrett and available from Business Export Press.
Your SPECTRUM Profile
You can take your own profile easily enough by going online at www .evaluationstore.com and selecting “How effective am I?” Then answer the questions. Your 30page detailed report will be emailed to you as a PDF. It will help you answer the following important questions:
• How Introvert or Extrovert do you think you are?
Introvert comes from the Latin word “intro” meaning “inward” and vertere meaning “turning.” It describes a person who tends to turn inward mentally. Introverts are energized within themselves sometimes and as such tend to avoid large groups of people, feeling more energized by time alone.
An Extrovert is a person who enjoys talking to and being with other people. They are energized by being with others. This partly explains why they make great eye contact, because it is a source of energy for them. Extroverts love parties, talking on the phone, and meeting new people.
• How task or people focused are you?
A taskoriented person is one who focuses on the task or series of tasks at hand, as well as all procedures necessary to achieve the task. This logical person is less concerned with the idea of catering to the needs and wants of others but is likely to be more concerned with finding technical, stepbystep solutions for meeting specific goals. In other words, a taskoriented person might ask, “What steps can we take to meet our quarterly financial goals?”
A peoplefocused person understands the importance of placing a tremendous amount of time and focus on meeting the needs of everyone involved in the assignment. They like to collaborate and use emotion rather than logic. They are more likely to ask, “How can we build the kind of employee productivity that brings about success within the company?”
• How do you change in moments of stress?
In stressful situations our behavior changes. Some people become more aggressive, driven to direct action with more of a fight response. Others go slower, applying a hand brake to their behavior that can frustrate others. Some become more emotional. Others again become
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of it, enemies—not you, yourself, I well knew that—enemies would be bitter quick to say I was doing it from no honour and respect to you, but to suit my own convenience, because Susan was off. So I held away, because I saw that you'd be put in a false position, with your inclination—so I hope— on one side, and your proper woman's pride on the other. And now I see what a quandary it was, and how I've let you in for these painful adventures —all from too much nice feeling, seemingly."
"You can make a case, of course, but——"
"Let me finish. I ban't here to argue, Melinda. We've known each other a good long time now and it have been the bright ray in a troublous life, your friendship for me. We looked at things from the same point of view, and took high opinions, and laughed when we ought to laugh, and was serious in due season. And good men are scarce and good women far scarcer. And there never was and never will be a better woman than you. And it would be a second spring to me to have such a one at my right hand. I want you, not for this or that accident of life as have fallen upon me; but I want you just the same as I have wanted you any time these ten years. I couldn't speak till your father was gone, and I couldn't speak after, and in solemn truth, being a man of pretty nice feelings, I couldn't speak an hour before this instant moment. So you must sweep such trifles out of your mind and come to the question with no bias, but just your honest feelings to me and your memory of the past. So there it lies, my dear."
Mrs. Honeysett hesitated a few moments before replying—not because she was in any doubt as to her answer, but from a native sense that all must be done decently and in order.
Joe made the best of the situation and probably, had Melinda's attitude to him remained unchanged, a look back into memory, as he suggested, might have won the day for Mr. Stockman. She was conscious that a year ago she would have pardoned his errors of egotism. She even suspected that, as things were, they did not really lie at the root of the matter. But the root of the matter extended into new ground. Here, however, she could not pursue it. She only told herself that she would never marry Mr. Stockman now; and while sharing his opinion, that her little grievances were really unimportant and not worthy of being offered as a reason for refusal, she
only considered how, without them, she might gracefully decline. She let her tongue go and trusted to chance. Then she suddenly saw a way and took it.
"Us have had a very fine friendship indeed, Joe," she admitted, "and, in my humble opinion, it would be a terrible mistake to spoil it this way. For say what you may, friendship ain't love and love ain't friendship; and I do feel, betwixt me and you, it might be a sad pity to lose the substance for the shadow."
"You talk as if love would end friendship, instead of double it, Melinda," he answered; but he was quick-minded and he knew the woman meant to decline him. The thought immeasurably troubled Mr. Stockman, for he had assumed success to be certain. He had, indeed, already proceeded far beyond this point and planned his future with Melinda. He argued now and made a very strenuous effort to prove that there is no friendship like that of married people. He argued, also, that such an understanding as had obtained between him and Melinda since his wife's death was sufficient foundation for a very perfect and distinguished union.
She admitted that it might be so, but declined the experiment. She held that love too often endangered and weakened friendship, even if it did not actually destroy it; and she told him frankly, but with all consideration, that her friendship and admiration for him did not tend in that direction.
"I'm very much addicted to you, Joe, and you've been a big figure in my life for years, and will so continue I hope; but marriage with you don't draw me. You've been like an elder brother to me, and I hope you'll see your way to remain like that. But 'twould spoil all if we went into marriage. And, in a word, I couldn't do it, because my feelings don't respond."
"This is a very painful shock to me," he answered. "Somehow, such was you to me and, as I thought, me to you, that I felt the step could only be a matter of time; and what's more, Melinda, you never did nothing to make me feel otherwise—quite the contrary in fact. I don't say you—however, we'll not go into that side. You know what I mean."
"I do; and we will go into it, Joe, and have done with it. If you think I encouraged you——"
"What do you think?"
"Never—God's my judge! I was very proud of being your friend, and I got plenty of wisdom and good advice from you; and you often took a hint from me also. But nothing tender ever passed between us—never."
"That depends on what you call tenderness. To the seeing eye and feeling heart there may be a world of tenderness in a glance, Melinda, or in a silence, or in a handshake. I did most honestly believe you felt more than friendship for me, just as I have long felt more than friendship for you. And I showed as much, by a lot of touches that a quick woman like you couldn't have mistook. No, no, Melinda, that won't do. You knew."
"I'll take the blame, then, if you think I ought."
"Don't talk of blame. Consider if you ain't making a mistake. You're simply wasted single, and here's a tidy sort of man offering; and all his is yours, from the hour you say 'yes.' Weigh it. I know only too well what I'll lose if you don't come to me. In fairness, then, you did ought to consider if you don't lose pretty heavy too."
"Of course, of course. To lose your friendship would be a very great disaster for me, Joe. It's been a steadfast and lasting thing, and I should feel a cruel lot was gone if that was gone. But if it is to be a choice—— No; leave it as 'tis between us, my dear man. Let's be friends and forget this. I'll get 'e a cup of tea."
"As to friends, you don't quite see what you're doing yet, I'm afraid. You'm acting in an astonishing way that throws down the past, Melinda, and makes you like the rough and tumble of women—them with no fixed views and opinions, as don't know their own mind—if they've got minds to know. I'll be off instanter, Melindy, and leave you in hope that you'll think this thing out and find you're on the edge of a terrible mistake. I never thought I'd misunderstood you like this. Indeed, if I had fancied there was a doubt, I should have probably been too proud to offer at all."
He rose and prepared to depart.
Mrs. Honeysett, glad that he remained calm, was also thankful that he should go.
"I'll never lose sight of you in my mind, or in my prayers," she said.
"I came in full sail," he answered; "now I go off like a ship without a mast, or a rudder. It'll puzzle me to my dying day how you could be so harsh."
He left her in deep dejection, which warmed to anger before he had reached home. He convinced himself that Melinda had played him false. For years there had been an implicit understanding in his mind that he had but to put forth his hand to take. And he had been tender and abounded in the little "touches" he mentioned. These Melinda had perfectly comprehended and even appreciated. Nay, she had repaid them in kind. The effect of her refusal was bad. Mr. Stockman saw his stable world reeling about him. He had barely recovered from the shock of Susan's engagement and now, after carefully rebuilding his future environment and allowing himself to dwell philosophically on the bright side of it, he found all in ruins and further necessity for fresh plans.
And that same evening, after supper, when Thomas Palk and Susan had crept out for a walk, Lawrence Maynard came to the master of Falcon Farm and gave notice.
"There's no hurry," he said. "I'm at your service, master, so long as you want me; but I've made up my mind to leave England in the autumn and see a bit of the world before it's too late. I think to go by Michaelmas, or a bit after—to Australia very like—and take up land."
To Maynard's amazement Joe turned upon him with something almost of fury. His cowman knew not of Joe's earlier reverse and all that he had that day been called to endure.
"What—what are you telling me? You going too? You ungrateful devil! You thankless, selfish toad! What have I done—what on God's earth have I
done—to be turned down and flouted and tormented at every step of my life in this way? A man whose every act and thought be kindness for other people; and now every man's hand be against me! Persecution I call it; and you—you, who have had to thank me for far more than goes between master and man; you, as I have offered friendship to, and trusted and treated more like a son than a servant! You ought to be shamed to the marrow in your bones to think to leave me—an old, careworn, ill-used wretch with one foot in the grave and all the world turning its back on him."
"Don't—don't!" said Lawrence. "Don't take on like that. There's no hurry for a few months. I've been very proud and grateful for all you've done for me, Mr. Stockman."
"Get out of my sight," answered the other. "There's no honesty, nor honour, nor plain dealing left in man or woman, so far as I can see. It's a hell of a world, and I wish a good few people as I could name, yourself included, had never come into it. My lines have fallen in shameful places, and if I wasn't too old, I'd shake the dust off my shoes against Buckland and everybody in it."
Then Maynard retreated and left Joe panting heavily and staring into the kitchen fire.
He had gone to bed when Susan returned, and she and Tom and Maynard mumbled in low voices for an hour while the latter described his experience. To Stockman's daughter this outburst signified far more than it did to either of the men, for she guessed upon what business her father had been employed that afternoon, and now knew that a terrible disappointment must have overtaken him. She wept half the night on his account and mourned not a little on her own; for Joe's failure must inevitably increase her personal difficulties and double the future problems of Thomas and herself.
CHAPTER XXXII
JANE AND JERRY
Under the first grey of dawn, Maynard posted a letter in the empty wrens' nest and then proceeded down the hill to Lower Town. He was on an errand from Falcon Farm to Mr. Chaffe, and then he would proceed to a farm on the moor, about the purchase of two heifers. For Stockman had long since found that Lawrence knew as much concerning cattle as himself. The present arrangements had been made before the cowman gave notice, and his latest letter to Dinah chronicled the fact that he had done so. He answered also her last note. The letter-box worked well and many communications had been exchanged. Dinah's were full of love and ardour. Her plans amused him. They shared one determination; to take nothing with them. They would sail from Plymouth for Australia presently and they would be married at Sydney as soon as possible after landing. Maynard's money was more than enough and their passages would be state-aided. Preliminaries were complete and there remained only to fix their place of meeting and date of sailing. Then they would simultaneously disappear.
Mr. Chaffe was already in his workshop when Maynard appeared.
"Early birds both!" said he. "I know what you've come about, however. Joe wants me to look into his stables, where the dry rot have got, and see how much must come out and be made good."
"That's right, Mr. Chaffe."
"I've been waiting and expecting it since Palk made the sad discovery. But no doubt your master has his mind pretty full of greater things."
"He has, I'm afraid. And it's making him fall short of his usual sense here and there."
"A man full of sense, however."
"So I've always found him, and full of human kindness also. I've a lot to thank him for—a very good friend to me. But a few days agone I gave notice, because I'm going farther afield before I'm too old, and he took it very bad indeed."
"My! You going too? Where?"
"To Australia. I want to see a bit of life and start fresh."
"And Joe didn't like it?"
"No; but he'll easily find a new cowman. There's nothing to get so savage about that I can see."
"He'd come to look at you as part of his show. No doubt, falling on his other troubles—— But he knows where to look for comfort I should hope. After all, it's but a passing thing. I always say that we who live in a Vale ought to know what a vale means. Life's gone a thought too flowing and easy with Joe. This is all meant to make him think of Beyond."
"Thought of the next world don't make trouble anything less than trouble."
"It ought then."
"Look after this world and the next will look after itself, Mr. Chaffe."
"A very dangerous opinion, Maynard, and I'm sorry you think so. It shows a weakness in you. That ain't the Christian standpoint and you know it."
"Your views are behind the times perhaps."
"Far from it: they're ahead of the times. It's the still, small voice ain't heard in these days. The world knows its noisiest men, not its greatest; and so it don't know its Saviour—not even yet."
"Life's life, Mr. Chaffe, and what you hold runs counter to life. It's no sense preaching earthly misery to humans, because they're built to hate
misery and seek happiness."
"I don't preach misery. I only preach that happiness must be looked for in the next world, not this one. It don't belong here and never will."
Maynard shook his head.
"I've thought of these things and I see your Church standing between man and a lot of lawful happiness. Let the Church help to clear up the cruel mess in this world."
"Then join the brotherhood of God and do your share."
"Only the brotherhood of man can do it. Justice ain't the possession of you Church people alone. And while you demand such a lot of injustice, you'll only lose your friends. Take marriage. You won't let marriage be a human thing, nor yet divorce. You let marriage be a trap for people—easy to get in, impossible to get out—then you've got the face to say it's God's will—the God of love and mercy!"
"I'm sorry to hear you talk in this wicked way, and I know where you learnt such bad learning," answered Arthur. "But Enoch Withycombe wouldn't say those things now, Maynard. He's in the Light now, and it would make him a very sad man to hear you."
"I didn't get my opinions from him. I only keep my eyes open and see how life goes; and I know there's hundreds and hundreds of poor people living in misery to-day, because you say God brought 'em together, instead of the Devil."
"We'll talk about this another time. I must try to open your eyes if I can. You stand on very dangerous ground and your little bit o' learning's like a Jack o' Lantern—it'll land you in a bog if you don't watch it. John Bamsey's much the same, only his doubts take him in another direction. The mischief with you young men is that you think your own twopenny-halfpenny opinions matter; and in his case, he lets a small thing like his own experience poison his life and spoil his Christian outlook."
"Your own experience isn't a small thing," argued Lawrence, but the carpenter declared personal experience a very trumpery matter.
"Only the weak mind will let the things that happen to it influence conscience and the knowledge of right and wrong," he said. "Our faith is founded on a Rock, remember, and our bad luck and earthly frets and cares did only ought to make us cling the stouter to that Rock."
They talked but did not convince each other. Then Lawrence went his way, leaving in the mind of Mr. Chaffe considerable uneasiness. In the carpenter's knowledge there were not a few who professed similar opinions, and it greatly saddened him to see the younger generation slipping away from the faith of its fathers. He held that no sound democracy was possible without religion, and to hear young men say that religion had no more to do with democracy than football, was a serious grief to him.
Meantime there had happened behind Lawrence Maynard's back a thing of much import. Though the hour was still early, two people entered the lane through the woods some fifty minutes after he had descended it, and their arrival synchronised at the region of the ivy bank and the wrens' nest. A few seconds more would have seen Jerry Withycombe past the spot, on his way to work in the valley; but chance so willed it that, as he rounded a bend on his way, he saw beneath him, but still far distant, a woman's sunbonnet, and he recognised its faded blue. She with whom his melancholy thoughts were concerned was evidently approaching, and the fact that she should be out so early, and on the way she knew he must be travelling to his work, created sudden, deep emotion in the woodman. His quarrel with Jane bulked larger in his eyes than in hers. She continued to be obdurate about a trifle, from no opinion that the trifle really mattered, but because it gave her a sense of freedom and a loophole if she so desired. She continued to be really fond of Jerry, and it wanted no great change of mind to bring them together. Indeed she proposed ere long to make it up. And now it seemed as though she were about to do so, and had put herself to trouble and risen early to meet him on his way.
A few moments, however, brought large disappointment for the man. At sight of the sun-bonnet, he had backed and waited to watch. Now he quickly perceived the approaching figure was not Jane's slim shape, but
Dinah's ampler proportions. He was cast down from a great hope and scowled at the innocent Dinah. Then a ray of light shot his darkness, for it occurred to him that Dinah might be a messenger of good tidings. At any rate the sun-bonnet was Jane's—picked up haphazard no doubt, when Dinah set forth.
He waited and watched a few moments before proceeding, then marked Dinah stop and do a strange thing. She had not come to seek him it seemed after all; but something she sought and something she found.
In truth the lover of Lawrence was there to leave a letter. She did not expect one and was the more delighted to find the note left an hour before.
Jerry saw her peep about, to be sure she was alone, then go to the green bank, insert her hand and bring out a small white object from the ivy. She stood and evidently read a letter. Still he held back, in great wonder at this scene. Dinah next produced something from her own pocket, opened it and appeared to write. She was adding a few words to the note that she had brought. She then put it in the nest and was quickly gone again down the hill.
Jerry waited till Dinah had disappeared; then, having marked the spot where she stood, he shouldered his frail and proceeded. Already he had a suspicion of the truth and presently made cautious search under the ivycurtain. Nothing rewarded him until he found the old nest and a piece of paper therein. It was folded closely but conveyed no information on the outside. He held it in his hand a few moments and his mind worked in a selfish direction. Here was an item of tremendous interest to one person. He did not doubt that the letter was intended for a man, and felt very sure the fact proved his own sweetheart's assurance: that Dinah was secretly engaged, if not married. His thoughts were with Jane, and it seemed to him that chance had now thrown him an admirable opportunity to win her back. For such a secret as this would be meat and drink to her. Nor need it hurt Dinah. Jerry had not the slightest desire to hurt anybody; but he felt that his information might be well worth Jane's forgiveness; and if Dinah were indeed courting a local man, no harm could befall either her, or him, by the fact of their secret escaping. There might be a good joke in it: that anything
to distress and confound the secret lovers could spring from his discovery he did not guess.
To him, then, this post office of Dinah and an unknown appeared a great and delightful find, capable of doing him a very good turn. It meant a triumph for Jane—a sort of triumph she would appreciate; but it also meant a bargain that should recover Jane's friendship before completion.
To find the unknown man would be easy now; indeed Jerry guessed that he had only to open the letter to learn it; but that was not an action possible to him. He restored the folded paper to its place, marked the spot very carefully and was content to leave the rest to Jane. She would have to see him, and that for the moment she declined to do; but he proposed to himself a visit after his day's work and doubted not that, if he pressed it forcibly enough, she might consent. Failing that, he would have to proceed singlehanded with his inquiry. He felt sure enough that Jane had all along been right in her conviction that Maynard was the man, and he already anticipated her triumph if this should prove to be so.
That night he called at Green Hayes and it was Dinah who answered his knock. Jerry felt uncomfortable, but salved his conscience and invited her friendship.
She, knowing very well why he was come, left him and returned to the kitchen.
"Jerry wants to see you half a minute, Jane," she said. "He won't keep you, but he's got something to say as you must hear. It's a wonderful thing, he says, and will interest you a lot."
Jane, however, showed no immediate inclination to respond.
"Like his cheek," she said. "Didn't I tell the know-naught fool that when I wanted him I'd let him know?"
"Well, he wants you. And he's bursting with news seemingly. He begged me very earnest to ask you to see him."
"Perhaps his patience is out," said Mrs. Bamsey. "Perhaps he's come to give you up, Jane."
"No," she said. "I ban't feared of that. I only want him to see sense over a little matter here and there. If we are to be married in the autumn, he's got to understand about a few things."
Jane's secrets were secrets no longer. Her dream of a shop at Ashburton was now common knowledge.
"Go to him then. You've kept it up long enough if you really want him," said her mother.
"What should he have to tell me, except he's come round to my views?" asked Jane.
"Perhaps he has," replied Dinah.
Jane rose, dropped a story book and went out. There was a mumble of voices. Then Dinah and Faith heard her go down the garden path with Jerry.
"Thank goodness that's over," said Dinah. "Now you'll have peace, Mrs. Bamsey."
"I don't know," answered the elder. "They're not really well suited. Jane did ought to have taken a town man."
"She'll break him in to bricks and mortar after a bit," prophesied Dinah. "They love each other properly enough."
"If that was so, there'd be no talk of breaking in," said Jane's mother.
Meantime Jerry had spoken.
"It's very kind of you to see me," he said, "and you won't regret it. I've got a great piece of news for you, and it's a triumph for you, Jane, and if you agree to come round and make it up and be same as you was, I'll tell you."
"What's the great news you'd be likely to hear?"
"I didn't hear it: I found it out. And it'll be a lot more to you than me for that matter."
They talked like children.
"Very well then I'll hear it."
"And be friends?"
"I'll be friends, if it's such great news as you say."
"No; that means you'll go back on it after. You must be friends. And we'll regard it still open about the shop. And you needn't fear my news ain't great. 'Tis a triumph for you, and everybody will say so."
Jane's triumphs were few. She considered. She had not the faintest idea of the matter in his mind, yet was glad to be close to him again and hear his voice.
"All right then," she said. "The shop can wait."
"Will you come out for an hour? Then you shall see something, as well as hear tell about it."
She turned, picked up the sun-bonnet that Dinah had donned in the morning, and followed him.
He made her kiss him and then they went up the hill as he told his story in every particular.
"And why for I've fetched you out," he said, "is because you shall see it with your own eyes."
She was deeply interested.
"And 'tis greatly to your credit," declared Jerry, "for you've seen through it from the first, like the clever one you are. 'Tis a feather in your cap, Jane."
"It fits in very suent," she answered, "because Maynard's given warning and be off presently; and if 'tis him, then no doubt they'll be off together. And God knows that won't trouble me."
"Why all this secret business?" asked Jerry. "There's no law against 'em marrying if they want to. What be they shamed of?"
"Can't you see that? The man who's after Dinah must know all about the past and how she served John. He's feared of John. My brother's took this like any proud man would. He's not going to have his name dragged in the dirt and take his wicked wrongs lying down."
Jerry was concerned.
"You don't mean to tell me this is any business of John's? Surely to God he's got sense enough to——?"
"You can leave John," she said, to calm his anxiety. "I'm not one to make trouble I'm sure. I'm only telling you. The chap after Dinah is afeared of John, and that's why they're keeping it close hid. What other reason can they have?"
"Then I do beg you'll respect their secret plans so far," urged Jerry. "I'm not telling you this for any mischief against anybody. I only wanted for you to have the pleasure of finding yourself in the right; and I thought 'twould be a bit of fun to let everybody know of it, and surprise Dinah and him and have a laugh at 'em—all friendly and well meaning. But if you tell me Johnny still means to be evil disposed to anybody as looks at Dinah, then the case is altered, for that means trouble."
But Jane was not prepared to lose the salt of the adventure for Jerry, or anybody. She kept her intentions secret, however.
"John's not a fool. I didn't mean that he'd do anything. What could he do? I only meant that the man, whoever he is, feels frightened of him. Of course there's no reason why he should be. Only a coward would be. So he's fair game anyway."
"If 'tis to be a laughing matter, I'll go on—not else," vowed Jerry; but she assured him that nothing but laughter would end the incident in any case.
They climbed the hill and he picked up his marks; then bade Jane light matches while he hunted for the nest. It was quickly found; she put her hand in and drew out Dinah's letter deposited that morning.
"He haven't come for it yet," said Jerry. "So us had better be moving, for he might be on his way this minute."
But Jane delayed and held the letter in her hand.
"If he only comes by night, we shall never find out who it is," she answered. "And you've been a very clever chap indeed, Jerry; and the rest you can leave with me. And don't you fear no trouble—of course not."
There was an obvious desire in her mind; but she guessed what Jerry would think of it and so kept it hidden and returned the letter to the nest.
"Well, you're a great wonder to find this out," she said, "and I'll keep my word and be friends. Don't you whisper a word to a soul yet. Leave it to me."
"No, no—this is your bit of fun," he declared. "They'll puzzle like fury to know how it slipped out, and us'll all roar with laughter at 'em I expect."
Indeed, he laughed in anticipation.
"Hush!" she said. "The man may be on his way now. I'll see you Sunday afternoon. And I'll find out for sure who the chap is by then, if I've got to hide and watch for him."
Jerry was overjoyed and embraced her.
"Sunday, then, and thank God we'm all right again, and us must never fall out no more, Jane; and I shall always feel kindly to these people, whether or no, because they've done this good deed for us."
Then they parted, each promising the other to keep a sharp look out on any passer-by. Jerry went his way in the best possible spirits and Jane started to run down the hill. But she did not run far and after her lover was out of the way, she stole back. She had kept his box of matches and now did a thing Jerry had probably forbidden. Not perhaps that his objection might have stopped her, but Jane's mind moved swiftly. Before all else it was desirable to find out the man, and she felt that nobody but a fool would waste time in detective operations while so simple an expedient as opening a letter offered. She had observed that Dinah's missive was merely folded, not sealed, and now she returned to the nest, found it and satisfied herself. Jane's honesty reached a point that amply soothed conscience. She had no intention to read the letter: that she would have held an improper action; but if the first words indicated the recipient, as she doubted not they would, then a great deal of time and trouble might be saved.
Jane opened the letter, having first listened that no approaching footfall broke the silence. Then she struck another match, read the words, "My darling Man," and hesitated. The match went out and she stood with the letter in her hand. Experience told her, from her own occasional communications to Jerry, that one might begin with an endearing but vague term and yet, at some later point in one's communication, mention the loved object by name. Dinah's large, free handwriting was easily seen and Jane considered that it would be possible to skim the letter, without really reading it, on the chance of finding the information she desired. This astute reasoning was rewarded, for, on the second sheet, as her eyes flickered along the lines, the name "Lawrence" very clearly appeared. Then she stopped, dropped her match, folded the letter carefully, restored it to its place and was gone.
"There's only one 'Lawrence' in these parts," thought Jane. Her reflections were now entirely with her brother. She did not echo Jerry's wish, that the matter should end in laughter, and clever though Jane was in some directions, there was a streak of malevolent idiocy about her in others. She now cherished a vague opinion that the man ought to suffer for his secret love-making. She despised him for a coward and rejoiced to think that John might do something drastic in the matter. That Maynard should be called upon to suffer seemed entirely reasonable to Jane; while as far as
Dinah was concerned, she panted with delight that her little schemes were now to be made as public as the bird's-nest she had trusted with them. She hated Dinah and had always done so. Anything therefore that could make Dinah miserable must commend itself to Jane.
"And she shall know who she's got to thank, too," reflected the maiden; "there wouldn't be much in it for me if she didn't hear who'd found her out."
Full of these unamiable intentions Jerry's sweetheart returned home and announced that she and her lover were reconciled.
"Thank the Lord for that, then," cried Dinah. "And don't you give him a chance to quarrel again. 'Tis good time lost, Jane."
"You mind your own love affairs," answered the other tartly. "Us all know you've got 'em; but be too shamed of 'em, seemingly, to make 'em public."
With this crushing response Jane retired while Dinah stared after her.
"Don't mind the girl," said Faith Bamsey. "You be such a woman of mystery since you went off about your affairs, that you mustn't quarrel with people if they fling their words at you."
"I don't want to quarrel with anybody, Mrs. Bamsey," answered Dinah.
CHAPTER XXXIII
JOE HEARS THE SECRET
Susan and Thomas were returning from church, where they had sat solemnly together and heard their banns called for the first time of asking. Mr. Stockman, informed that this would happen, declined to go; indeed of
late he had worshipped but seldom, permitting personal trials to check his devotions. The betrothed pair discussed Susan's father on the way home and Palk held it an impropriety that Mr. Stockman should not have been present.
"Out of respect to you, he did ought to have been there," he said; "and it's a very oneasy thing; because the next we shall hear may be that he won't come to the wedding neither."
"He's a regular Job for the minute—first one thing took and then another, till I dare say he feels the Lord have turned from him," murmured Susan.
"Not at all. Naught have overtook him that ain't well inside the common lot. Look at the items—firstly, his daughter gets engaged to be married to his hossman—a thing that ought to rejoice him instead of cast him down; secondly, his cowman gives notice—a thing that may happen to any farmer; and thirdly, yonder woman won't take him."
Thomas pointed where, fifty yards ahead of them, Melinda and her brother were walking home from church.
Soosie-Toosie nodded mournfully.
"There's no doubt. And that's a very harsh blow for father anyway. He'd always counted he could fall back on Melinda, like you put by a nest egg for the rainy day. And I'm a good bit disappointed in that quarter—quite as much as father in fact. But you mustn't whisper it, Tom; because of course the world ain't supposed to know father offered and got turned down."
"Other people won't pretend if we do," answered Mr. Palk. "He blew the trumpet about it himself, and everybody well understands that Mrs. Honeysett refused him."
"I'd give a fortune to know why," answered Joe's daughter. "Some day I'll ax her, I shouldn't wonder. Meantime I'd very much like to talk to her on another subject; and that's us."
"We must go on our appointed way. We don't want no outside opinions."
They overtook Melinda, and while Thomas talked with Jerry, the women fell back and Susan spoke of private affairs. She explained her gathering difficulties and Melinda listened with a good deal of sympathy.
"'Tis very undignified of your father, Susan—more like a naughty, disappointed child, than a man with fame for sense. I allow for him, because a good few things have happened to shake him; yet, so far as you and Mr. Palk are concerned, it did ought to be all joy and gladness."
"So it ought; but far from it," answered the other. "Father's got to such a pass now that when I tell him I'm wishful to name the day, he dares me to do so."
"Very wilful and unkind, and something ought to be done about it," declared Mrs. Honeysett. "I've been thinking a good deal on Joe lately, as I dare say you can guess; and no doubt you know very well why he came to see me a fortnight agone, Soosie. But I don't forget the past and I don't want to lose his friendship, nor yet yours. And I've thought a lot about you and him."
They lagged and mumbled together for some time; but it was clear that Melinda's views commended themselves much to Susan, and when they joined Jerry and Thomas at the turn to Mrs. Honeysett's house, Joe Stockman's daughter thanked her friend gratefully for some inspiring suggestions.
She talked without ceasing to Tom all the way home, and he listened and nodded and declared there might be a good deal in it.
"'Tis a great thought," he said, "and if you feel kind to it, then I might. Us'll see—'tis a rod to hold over the man, because it be full time for your father to find out where he stands."
"'Tis a sort of bargain of course," admitted Susan; "but you wouldn't call it a one-sided bargain."
"Not at all. It lets him out so as he can save his face before the folk. And it shows him what good-tempered creatures you and me are."
Thomas thought it might be possible to speak at the end of that day.
"I'll ax him to have a spot out of my bottle to-night," he said, "and if he condescends so far as to do so, then I'll open on him—not otherwise."
Mr. Palk was disappointed, however, for during the evening there came in John Bamsey to supper.
He appeared to be in a good temper and hid the object of his visit until after the meal was ended. He spoke chiefly of his own work on the river, and then of his father. Mr. Bamsey had sunk to be the mere husk of a man and his son frankly hoped that he might soon pass away.
"To know he was dead wouldn't be half so wisht as to see him alive like this," he said.
John was tactful with regard to Susan and Thomas. Indeed, he congratulated them out of earshot of Cousin Joe, and hoped it would be all right. To Maynard he was civil and no more.
Then, when opportunity came to do so, unheard by anybody else, he asked Mr. Stockman to walk out and smoke a pipe as he had something private to tell him. Joe was bored, for no affairs but his own interested him at this moment; but he obliged the younger, and through a warm, thundery night they strolled upon the Beacon. For a time the elder uttered general grievances and when he mentioned Lawrence Maynard, John struck in.
"That's why I wanted to get you away from them. There's a bit of news about Maynard; but perhaps you know it. And when it's out, he's got to reckon with me."
"Maynard's a very disappointing chap," declared the farmer. "Never did I like a man better, and never did I treat a man better, and I'm quite reasonable in that quarter when I say this is no ordinary case of a hand giving notice. He's outside his right to do any such thing with me; for I've been as good as a father to him for very near two years, and he well knew I never counted upon his going, and he's got no justice or honesty in him to do so."
