Margaret Cameron

“ Bowers isn't giving away partnerships. My purpose was to acquire the Boltwood patents myself from Welles, and then to offer them to Mr. Bowers in payment—or part payment—for my stock and for the patents Welles wants, which are absolutely useless to us."
"Oh, I see. How silly, if he needs the patents, to let a personal quarrel with a man who's dead—Mr. Bowers's temper must have cost him something before now." ”

“ Jordan's eyes. "Why don't you go and work for the Boltwoods, too? Here is Mr. Welles, manager after just a little while, and here you are, not even a member of the firm, after slaving all your life for that evil-tempered old man. Ellery, I wouldn't endure it. Just see what other men do for their old employees!"
"Yes, Boltwood died," dryly responded her husband.
"Oh, well—of course, I didn't mean that exactly, but Mr. Bowers ought to do something for you. Would Mr. Welles give you a position if you asked him?" ”

“ As long as Boltwood was alive, Bowers would have starved rather than buy directly of him; but he did try at one time to obtain possession of them indirectly. Boltwood then hoped to use them himself, and wouldn't sell. Welles sees that our patents are more valuable to them than those they hold will ever be. Because he's my friend, I could make a better deal with him than any one else in our concern. My scheme was to get Mr. Bowers here to dinner, and when he got to feeling good and amiable over the cigars, to tell him that I could get the Boltwood patents. ”

“ Of course she wanted to know where I was going and what I was going to get, and—well, you know Aunt Julia!" She turned toward him with a pretty gesture of impotence, and he smiled, nodding appreciatively. "Of course Aunt Julia is—Aunt Julia, and all that, but she wouldn't understand why I should want an extra set of plates, just because the Bowerses were coming to dinner, after we'd had all that lovely china given to us when we were married. You know, Ellery,"—her tone pleaded for comprehension, "to Aunt Julia a plate is a plate, and she wouldn't see why—"
"Of course. That's all right. ”

“ Bowers's name, for she said Mr. Welles had never met Mr. Bowers, and was very anxious to do so. By this time I was ready to clutch at any expedient, and I remembered that Mr. Bowers admires a pretty woman; I knew you had planned this dinner especially to please him and to make him very good-natured—and she is charming, Ellery—and—and I couldn't seem to see any other way out—I was all mixed up and confused—so—I asked them to dine with us to-night, to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bowers."
"My Lord!" ejaculated her husband. "You might better have asked the old original serpent! He'd make less trouble. ”

“ Bowers, that you should be given an opportunity to meet Mr. Welles and to decide whether or not you would consider certain proposals which would make such a change unnecessary." She paused, appalled at the sheer bravado of her defence, but as he simply stared at her in silence, the necessities of the situation swept her on. "Mr. Welles, as you have said, is a brilliant man, and we feel that he will achieve large success in business, and that an alliance with him cannot fail to be profitable. If the fact that he was once employed by George Boltwood—"
"Madam! ”

“ Oh yes, I think so—if he couldn't get away. One of his redeeming traits is that whatever he may do or say among men, he is very courteous to women. That wouldn't prevent his firing me bright and early the next morning, however. ”