![]() He hasn’t attended to business and he’s capped his inefficiency by absconding with our bank account. Henderson has drunk and gambled and signed chits in excess of his salary. “Well, I must admit your far-sightedness in that instance will keep the Shanghai office out of the red ink this year,” Matt Peasley replied. And I recall now that I was reminded by you, Matthew, my son, that I had retired ten years ago and please, would I quit interfering in the internal administration of your office.” ![]() Permit me to remind you that I’m the little genius who placed that insurance unknown to you and Matt. Skinner cut in coldly, “that he was bonded to the extent of a quarter of a million dollars.” And now he’s gone south with a hundred and thirty thousand taels of our Shanghai bank account.” But-I’ve been twenty years reducing a tendency on the part of that fellow’s head to bust his hat-band. Henderson was a good man-a crackerjack man-when he had a better man over him. ![]() “And now I have an opportunity to tell you the little tale you didn’t give me an opportunity to tell you before you sent him out. “I told you then that Henderson wouldn’t make good, didn’t I?” I’m boss of the Blue Star Navigation Company, am I not? The man was in charge of the Shanghai office before you ever opened your mouth to discharge your cargo of free advice.” But did you consult me when you decided to send him out to China on his own?” “And he had gone through every job in this office, from office boy to sales manager in the lumber department and from freight clerk to passenger agent in the navigation company,” Matt Peasley supplemented. “I had every hope that he would send us orders for many a cargo for Asiatic delivery.” “He’s the best lumber salesman we’ve ever had,” Mr. And I’m here to remind you that if we’d stuck to our own game, which is coastwise shipping, and had left the trans-Pacific field with its general cargoes to others, we wouldn’t have any Shanghai office at this moment and we would not be pestered by the Hendersons of this world.” “You’re referring to Henderson, of the Shanghai office, I dare say,” Mr. Have you two boobs lost your ability to judge men, or did you ever have such ability?” Great Wampus Cats! Am I to be denied a sentimental interest in matters where I have a controlling financial interest? I admit you two boys are running my affairs and ordinarily you run them rather well, but-but-ahem! Harumph-h-h! What’s the matter with you, Matt? And you, also, Skinner? If Matt makes a mistake, it’s your job to remind him of it before the results manifest themselves, is it not? And vice versa. I hope you do not expect me to abandon mental as well as physical effort. All the troubles in the marine end of this shop belong on my capable shoulders, old settler.” “We never argued you into taking over the management of those Shipping Board boats. Matt Peasley leveled an accusing finger at Cappy Ricks. A lot of our business is so far away we can’t control it.” Why? Because we’re breaking into a game that can’t be played on the home grounds. In my old age you two have forced us into the position of having to fire folks by cable. “You argued me into taking on the management of twenty-five of those infernal Shipping Board freighters, and no sooner do we have them allocated to us than a near panic hits the country, freight rates go to glory, marine engineers go on strike and every infernal young whelp we send out to take charge of one of our offices in the Orient promptly gets the swelled head and thinks he’s divinely ordained to drink up all the synthetic Scotch whiskey manufactured in Japan for the benefit of thirsty Americans. It’s the fact that in my old age I find myself totally surrounded by the choicest aggregation of mental duds since Ajax defied the lightning.” ![]() “You know dad-blamed well it isn’t a question of health or politics. “Stow your sarcasm, young feller,” Cappy shrilled. “Have you got a misery in your back, or is Herbert Hoover the wrong man for Secretary of Commerce?” “ You have troubles!” he jeered, with emphasis on the pronoun. But Matt Peasley sat down, crossed his legs and matched glares with his mercurial father-in-law. Skinner received this information in silence. Skinner, president and general manager of the Ricks Logging & Lumbering Company, the corporate entity which represented Cappy’s vast lumber interests and he fairly barked the information at Captain Matt Peasley, his son-in-law and also president and manager of the Blue Star Navigation Company, another corporate entity which represented the Ricks interest in the American mercantile marine. Ricks, known in Pacific Coast wholesale lumber and shipping circles as Cappy Ricks, had more troubles than a hen with ducklings.
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