Wheaton

“ Wheaton soon found it easy to do things that he had never thought of doing before. He became known [Pg 80] to the florist and the haberdasher; there was a little Hambletonian at a certain liveryman's which Warry Raridan drove a good deal, and he had learned from Warry how pleasant it was to drive out to the new country club in a runabout instead of using the street car, which left a margin of plebeian walking at the end of the line. He had never smoked, but he now made it a point to carry cigarettes with him. ”

“ Wheaton, who had had as little to do with politics as possible, was a bit of a dreamer, there was no question that his dreams were shared by more practical men at the present moment than for many years past ”

“ A clerk at the desk in the hall read in peace. A party of young people could be heard entering by the side door set apart for women; and muffled echoes of their gaiety reached the trio in the reading-room.
"That's back in the incurables' ward," said Raridan, in explanation to Saxton.
"It isn't nice of you to speak of the gentler sex in that way," admonished Wheaton.
"Oh, there are girls and girls," said Raridan wearily. "It does seem to me that Mabel Margrave is always hungry. Why can't she do her eating at home?"
"He's simply jealous," Wheaton remarked to Saxton. ”

“ Before they made Wheaton cashier, Porter carried the whole bank in his [Pg 91] head. He's improving a little, and has a stenographer now; but he's nervous and anxious all the while and terribly fussy over all he does."
"Wheaton ought to be a great help to him," said the bishop. "He seems a steady fellow, hard working and industrious."
"Oh, he's all those things," Raridan answered carelessly. "He'll never steal anybody's money."
The bishop talked directly to Raridan about some work which it seemed the young man had done for him, and rose to go. ”

“ Wheaton's promotion to the cashiership had come in the spring; and shortly afterward he had changed his way of living in a few particulars. He had lodged for years in a boarding house frequented by clerks; a place where his fellow boarders were, among others, a music teacher, a milliner and the chief operator of the telephone exchange. He had not felt above them; their dancing class and occasional theater party had seemed fine to him. ”

“ There was a disposition for a time to reject the story of the tragedy at the Poindexter ranch house as it had been given out by Bishop Delafield and John Saxton; but the bishop's word in the matter was final; he was not a man to conceal the truth. Those who had seen most of Wheaton were the most puzzled. The men who [Pg 381] remained at The Bachelors' were stunned by the whole affair, but in particular they failed to grasp the curious phase presented by Wheaton's connection—or lack of connection—with it. ”

“ Glenister wiped the moisture from his brow and grinned at Wheaton.
A quarter of an hour later, as they lay heaving below the ship's steel sides, he thrust a heavy buckskin sack into the lawyer's hand.
"There's money to win the fight, Bill. I don't know how much, but it's enough. God bless you. Hurry back!"
A sailor cast them a whirling rope, up which Wheaton clambered; then, tying the gripsack to its end, they sent it after.
"Important!" the young man yelled at the officer on the bridge. "Government business." ”

“ Wentworth went away with a vague impression that there was something unreal or unsound about Mr. Jocelyn, and he began to share Mrs. Wheaton's painful forebodings for the family. Belle enjoyed the visit greatly, for the minister was an apostle of a very sunny gospel, and she was then ready for no other. Moreover, the healthful, unwarped man delighted in the girl's frolicsome youth, and no more tried to repress her vivacity than he would the bubble and sparkle of a spring. ”

“ Wheaton, "Mr. Elder is entirely out of the question—entirely so. Mr. Laicus can hardly have proposed him seriously."
"Why out of the question, gentlemen?" said I. "He is a good preacher. Our congregation know him. He is a faithful, devoted pastor. We shall do Wheatensville no injustice, for it cannot give him a support. As to age, he is certainly not infirm. I do not believe he is a year over forty-five."
"No! no!" said Mr. Wheaton, decidedly. "It is utterly out of the question. We must have a young man, one who is fresh, up with the spirit of the age; one who can draw in the young men. ”

“ Wheaton answered. "I've been to the ranch, and there's little personal property there worth caring for. That man Snyder came along one day and asked for a job and I sent him out there thinking he'd keep things in order until the Trust Company sent its own representative here."
There were times when Wheaton's black eyes contracted curiously, and this was one of the times.
"I don't like discharging a man that you've employed," Saxton replied.
"Oh, that's all right. You can't keep him if he [Pg 49] performs no service. ”

“ The lawyer had neither time nor opportunity for expostulation, for Glenister snatched a valise and swept into it a litter of documents from the table.
“Hurry up, man,” he yelled, as the lawyer dived frantically about his office in a rabbit-like hunt for items. “My Heavens! Are you dead? Wake up! The ship’s leaving.” With sleep still in his eyes Wheaton was dragged down the street to the beach, where a knot had assembled to witness the race. As they tumbled into the skiff, willing hands ran it out into the surf on the crest of a roller. ”

“ I never fool with the pass business myself; I've got troubles of my own."
"I guess I'll not use it very often," said Wheaton, as if he owed an apology to the road for accepting it.
"Better come out with me in the car sometime and [Pg 254] see the road," Margrave suggested, throwing his newspaper on the table.
"I'd like that very much," said Wheaton.
"Where's Thompson now? Old man's pretty well done up, ain't he?"
"He went back to Arizona. He was here at work all summer. He's afraid of our winters."
"Well, that gives you your chance," said Margrave, affably. ”

“ Margrave continued, as if in friendly canvass of Wheaton's future. "You have a good position here; when the old man's out of the way, you can marry the girl and be president of the bank. It's dead easy for a smart fellow like you. ”

“ Wheaton turned them over mechanically; it was not very long since he had been an individual bookkeeper himself; he had entered innumerable checks bearing Porter's name without giving them a thought. As the slips of paper passed through his fingers, he accounted for them in one way or another and put them back on the desk, face down, as a man always does who has been trained as a bank clerk. The last of them he held and studied. It was a check made payable to Peckham, Fenton's clerk. ”

“ We'll put you on to the curves all right."
"I'm sure I'm very much surprised," said Wheaton, "but—"
"Oh, it's all fixed," said Margrave, moving off. "You're the only one and we never let anybody decline. It would knock all the compliment out of it, if we let two or three fellows refuse before we caught one that would accept."
Wheaton went back to his desk, surprised and flattered. Margrave's good will was worth having. Wheaton had never outgrown the impression he formed of Margrave when, as a boy, he had indexed letter [Pg 96] books and received callers in the general manager's outer office. ”

“ A man who doesn't want an opportunity in this world doesn't have to kick it very hard to get rid of it. Other fellows, who never had any chance, are watching for the luckier ones to slip [Pg 224] back. There are never any lonesome places on the ladder. Now, there's Wheaton—" He again examined Evelyn's face in one of those tranquil stares with which he made his most minute scrutiny of people. "Wheaton ain't a showy fellow like Warry, but he's one of the sort that make their way because they keep an eye open to the main chance. ”

“ He certainly knew more about the affairs of the bank than any of them except Porter and he knew more than Porter of the details. During this informal conference of the directors, Wheaton was called to the telephone, and was cheered by the sound of Evelyn's voice. She asked him to come up as soon as convenient; she wished to give him a message from her father, who was [Pg 269] very comfortable, she said. After dinner would do; she knew that he must be very busy. He expressed his sympathy formally, and went back to the directors with a kindlier feeling toward the world. ”

“ Saxton, Mr. Wheaton."
"Oh, yes," said the man introduced as Wheaton. "I wondered whether I shouldn't see you here. Mr. Porter told me you had come."
"I've been bringing Mr. Saxton up to date in local history," said Raridan.
"Chiefly concerning yourself, I suppose," said Wheaton, with a smile that did not wholly succeed in being amiable.
"It isn't often I get a chance at a brand new man," [Pg 21] Raridan ran on. "I've told the worst about you, so conduct yourself accordingly."
"Mr. Raridan's worst isn't very bad," said Saxton. ”

“ As a bank clerk the teller's cage had shut Wheaton off from the world. Young women of social distinction [Pg 76] who came sometimes to get checks cashed, knew him as a kind of automaton, that looked at both sides of their checks and at themselves, and then passed out coin and paper to them; they saw him nowhere else, and did not bother themselves about him. After his promotion to be assistant cashier, he saw the world closer at hand. He had a desk and could sit down and talk to the men whom he had studied from the cage for so long. ”

“ He took off his overcoat and hat and laid them down carefully on his own desk.
"Going to work to-night, Mr. Wheaton?" asked the watchman.
Wheaton felt that he owed it to the watchman to explain, and he said:
"There are some papers in Mr. Porter's box that I must give to Mr. Fenton to-night. They are in the old vault." This vault was often opened at night by the bookkeepers and there was no reason why the cashier should not enter it when he pleased. The watchman turned up the lights so that Wheaton could manipulate the combination, and then swung open the door. Wheaton thanked him and went in. ”

“ It gives him something to do."
"That's like Warry. He can be more steadfast in error than anybody."
Raridan was exchanging chaff with Miss Marshall across the table and Wheaton was stranded for the moment.
"You must tell us about that Chinaman at your bachelors' house, Mr. Wheaton. Mr. Raridan has told me many funny stories about him, but I think he makes up most of them."
"I'd hardly dare repudiate any of Mr. Raridan's [Pg 110] stories; but I'll say that we couldn't get on without the Chinaman. He's a very faithful fellow."
"But Mr. Raridan says he isn't!" exclaimed Evelyn. ”

“ It is not ordained for us to know whether those we touch hands with, and even break bread with, from day to day, are to bring us good or evil. The electric light reveals nothing in the sibyl's book which was not disclosed of old to those who pondered the mysteries by starlight and rushlight.
Wheaton left them at the club door and went on to [Pg 212] The Bachelors', which, was only a step farther up the street.
"How do you like Wheaton by this time?" asked Raridan, as they entered the club.
"I hardly know how to answer that," Saxton answered. "He's treated me well enough. ”

“ Mother Wheaton came to Tacoma from her headquarters in Tabor, Ia., accompanying Miss Grace Yarrette, a young woman who is going as a missionary to India.
MANY YEARS IN PRISON WORK.
There is no woman in the world, and perhaps no man, who has had the prison experience of Mother Wheaton. The last twenty years of her life have virtually been spent inside prison walls, and there is not many in the country in which she is not a familiar figure. Long terms and lifers all over the land know her. ”

“ Raridan held out his hand to Saxton. "I'm glad you're here, and you may be sure we'll try to make you like us. Wheaton and I live in a barracks around the corner, with a few other homeless wanderers. An ill-favored thing,—but our own! I hope to see you there. Don't be afraid of the Chinaman at the door. My cell is up one flight and to the right."
"And don't overlook me there," Wheaton interposed. "I suppose we shall see you down town very often. Mr. Raridan is the only man in Clarkson who has no visible means of support. The rest of us are pretty busy ”

“ He weighed one hundred and sixty-five pounds and three ounces. Pat was perspiring violently. [174]
"If you sweat, I'll murder you!" said Wheaton.
They appeared before the Commission, Wheaton watching everything like a hawk, his heart in his mouth as the weighing test came. One hundred and sixty-five pounds and one ounce! There was no getting around it!
"Pat," said Wheaton, later, "You're on the force now and you've had a lesson in practical politics. You ought to be a sergeant in no time."
"Politics is aisy," said Pat, "but Oi'm thinkin' Oi'll be changin' me diet. ”

“ The men for the most part made a good appearance, the more favored looking college-bred and irreproachable. Hyliard Wheaton, who was really handsome, with his broad shoulders and cool smooth well-cut face, wore an orchid in his button-hole and was devoting himself to Isabel.
The hostess wore a gown of black chiffon trimmed with pale blue that looked simple and was not. Her neck and arms were bare, and Gwynne noticed at once that she had another little black mole where the bodice slipped from her shoulder. She reproached the guest of honor for being late. ”

“ When he found that Wheaton was in the drawing-room he usually went over to talk to him in the interim before Evelyn came down. Sometimes a bit of news in the evening paper gave him a text.
"I see that they've had a shaking up over at St. Joe. Well, Wigglesworth never was any good. They ought to have had more sense than to get caught by him. Well, sir, you remember he was offering his paper up here. We could have had a barrel of it; but when a man of his credit peddles his paper away from home, it's a good thing to let alone. ”