第2章
“Goodbusiness！There’snosuchathing！”saidtheGlasgowman。“Nobodymakesanythingbutthemissionaries——dashit！”
“Idon’tknow。”saidanother。“There’sagooddealinopium。”
“It’sagoodjobtostrikeatabooedpearl-island，say，aboutthefourthyear。”remarkedathird；“skimthewholelagoononthesly，andupstickandawaybeforetheFrenchgetwindofyou。”
“Apignokketofcoldisgood。”observedaGerman。
“There’ssomethinginwrecks，too。”saidHavens。“LookatthatmaninHonolulu，andtheshipthatwentashoreonWaikikiReef；itwasblowingakona，hard；andshebegantobreakupassoonasshetouched。Lloyd’sagenthadhersoldinsideanhour；andbeforedark，whenshewenttopiecesinearnest，themanthatboughtherhadfeatheredhisnest。Threemorehoursofdaylight，andhemighthaveretiredfrombusiness。Asitwas，hebuiltahouseonBeretaniaStreet，andcalleditfortheship。”
“Yes，there’ssomethinginwreckssometimes。”saidtheGlasgowvoice；“butnotoften。”
“Asageneralrule，there’sdeucedlittleinanything。”saidHavens。
“Well，Ibelievethat’saChristianfact。”criedtheother。“WhatIwantisasecret；getholdofarichmanbytherightplace，andmakehimsqueal。”
“Isupposeyouknowit’snotthoughttobetheticket。”returnedHavens。
“Idon’tcareforthat；it’sgoodenoughforme。”criedthemanfromGlasgow，stoutly。“Theonlydevilofitis，afellowcanneverfindasecretinaplaceliketheSouthSeas：onlyinLondonandParis。”
“M’Gibbon’sbeenreadingsomedime-novel，Isuppose。”saidoneclubman。
“He’sbeenreading_AuroraFloyd_。”remarkedanother。
“AndwhatifIhave？”criedM’Gibbon。“It’salltrue。Lookatthenewspapers！It’sjustyourconfoundedignorancethatsetsyousnickering。Itellyou，it’sasmuchatradeasunderwriting，andadashedsightmorehonest。”
ThesuddenacrimonyoftheseremarkscalledLoudon(whowasamanofpeace)fromhisreserve。“It’srathersingular。”
saidhe，“butIseemtohavepractisedaboutallthesemeansoflivelihood。”
“Tityoueffervindanokket？”inquiredtheinarticulateGerman，eagerly。
“No。Ihavebeenmostkindsoffoolinmytime。”returnedLoudon，“butnotthegold-diggingvariety。Everymanhasasanespotsomewhere。”
“Well，then。”suggestedsomeone，“didyoueversmuggleopium？”
“Yes，Idid。”saidLoudon。
“Wastheremoneyinthat？”
“Alltheway。”respondedLoudon。
“Andperhapsyouboughtawreck？”askedanother。
“Yes，sir。”saidLoudon。
“Howdidthatpanout？”pursuedthequestioner。
“Well，minewasapeculiarkindofwreck。”repliedLoudon。“I
don’tknow，onthewhole，thatIcanrecommendthatbranchofindustry。”
“Didshebreakup？”askedsomeone。
“IguessitwasratherIthatbrokedown。”saysLoudon。“Headnotbigenough。”
“Evertrytheblackmail？”inquiredHavens。
“Simpleasyouseemesittinghere！”respondedDodd。
“Goodbusiness？”
“Well，I’mnotaluckyman，yousee。”returnedthestranger。“Itoughttohavebeengood。”
“Youhadasecret？”askedtheGlasgowman。
“AsbigastheStateofTexas。”
“Andtheothermanwasrich？”
“Hewasn’texactlyJayGould，butIguesshecouldbuytheseislandsifhewanted。”
“Why，whatwaswrong，then？Couldn’tyougethandsonhim？”
“Ittooktime，butIhadhimcorneredatlast；andthen——“
“Whatthen？”
“Thespeculationturnedbottomup。Ibecametheman’sbosomfriend。”
“Thedeuceyoudid！”
“Hecouldn’thavebeenparticular，youmean？”askedDoddpleasantly。“Well，no；he’samanofratherlargesympathies。”
“Ifyou’redonetalkingnonsense，Loudon。”saidHavens，“let’sbegettingtomyplacefordinner。”
Outside，thenightwasfulloftheroaringofthesurf。Scatteredlightsglowedinthegreenthicket。Nativewomencamebytwosandthreesoutofthedarkness，smiledandogledthetwowhites，perhapswooedthemwithastrainoflaughter，andwentbyagain，bequeathingtotheairaheadyperfumeofpalm-oilandfrangipaniblossom。FromtheclubtoMr。Havens’sresidencewasbutasteportwo，andtoanydwellerinEuropetheymusthaveseemedstepsinfairyland。Ifsuchanonecouldbuthavefollowedourtwofriendsintothewide-verandahedhouse，satdownwiththeminthecooltrellisedroom，wherethewineshoneonthelamp-lightedtablecloth；tastedoftheirexoticfood——therawfish，thebreadfruit，thecookedbananas，theroastpigservedwiththeinimitablemiti，andthatkingofdelicacies，palm-treesalad；seenandheardbyfitsandstarts，nowpeeringroundthecornerofthedoor，nowrailingwithinagainstinvisibleassistants，acertaincomelyyoungnativeladyinasacque，whoseemedtoomodesttobeamemberofthefamily，andtooimperioustobeless；andthenifsuchanonewerewhiskedagainthroughspacetoUpperTooting，orwhereverelsehehonoredthedomesticgods，“Ihavehadadream。”I
thinkhewouldsay，ashesatup，rubbinghiseyes，inthefamiliarchimney-cornerchair，“Ihavehadadreamofaplace，andIdeclareIbelieveitmustbeheaven。”ButtoDoddandhisentertainer，allthisamenityofthetropicnightandallthesedaintiesoftheislandtable，weregrownthingsofcustom；andtheyfelltomeatlikemenwhowerehungry，anddriftedintoidletalklikemenwhowereatriflebored。
Thesceneintheclubwasreferredto。
“Ineverheardyoutalksomuchnonsense，Loudon。”saidthehost。
“Well，itseemedtometherewassulphurintheair，soItalkedfortalking。”returnedtheother。“Butitwasnoneofitnonsense。”
“Doyoumeantosayitwastrue？”criedHavens，——“thatabouttheopiumandthewreck，andtheblackmailingandthemanwhobecameyourfriend？”
“Everylastwordofit。”saidLoudon。
“Youseemtohavebeenseeinglife。”returnedtheother。
“Yes，it’saqueeryarn。”saidhisfriend；“ifyouthinkyouwouldlike，I’lltellityou。”
HerefollowstheyarnofLoudonDodd，notashetoldittohisfriend，butashesubsequentlywroteit。
Thebeginningofthisyarnismypoorfather’scharacter。Thereneverwasabetterman，norahandsomer，nor(inmyview)amoreunhappy——unhappyinhisbusiness，inhispleasures，inhisplaceofresidence，and(Iamsorrytosayit)inhisson。Hehadbegunlifeasaland-surveyor，soonbecameinterestedinrealestate，branchedoffintomanyotherspeculations，andhadthenameofoneofthesmartestmenintheStateofMuskegon。
“Doddhasabighead。”peopleusedtosay；butIwasneversosureofhiscapacity。Hisluck，atleast，wasbeyonddoubtforlong；hisassiduity，always。Hefoughtinthatdailybattleofmoney-grubbing，withakindofsad-eyedloyaltylikeamartyr’s；roseearly，atefast，camehomedispiritedandover-
eary，evenfromsuccess；grudgedhimselfallpleasure，ifhisnaturewascapableoftakingany，whichIsometimeswondered；andlaidout，uponsomedealinwheatorcornerinaluminium，theessenceofwhichwaslittlebetterthanhighwayrobbery，treasuresofconscientiousnessandself-denial。
Unluckily，Inevercaredacentforanythingbutart，andnevershall。Myideaofman’schiefendwastoenrichtheworldwiththingsofbeauty，andhaveafairlygoodtimemyselfwhiledoingso。IdonotthinkImentionedthatsecondpart，whichistheonlyoneIhavemanagedtocarryout；butmyfathermusthavesuspectedthesuppression，forhebrandedthewholeaffairasself-indulgence。
“Well。”Iremembercryingonce，“andwhatisyourlife？Youareonlytryingtogetmoney，andtogetitfromotherpeopleatthat。”
Hesighedbitterly(whichwasverymuchhishabit)，andshookhispoorheadatme。“Ah，Loudon，Loudon！”saidhe，“youboysthinkyourselvesverysmart。But，struggleasyouplease，amanhastoworkinthisworld。Hemustbeanhonestmanorathief，Loudon。”
Youcanseeforyourselfhowvainitwastoarguewithmyfather。Thedespairthatseizeduponmeaftersuchaninterviewwas，besides，embitteredbyremorse；forIwasattimespetulant，butheinvariablygentle；andIwasfighting，afterall，formyownlibertyandpleasure，hesinglyforwhathethoughttobemygood。Andallthetimeheneverdespaired。“Thereisgoodstuffinyou，Loudon。”hewouldsay；“thereistherightstuffinyou。Bloodwilltell，andyouwillcomerightintime。I
amnotafraidmyboywilleverdisgraceme；Iamonlyvexedheshouldsometimestalknonsense。”Andthenhewouldpatmyshoulderormyhandwithakindofmotherlywayhehad，veryaffectinginamansostrongandbeautiful。
AssoonasIhadgraduatedfromthehighschool，hepackedmeofftotheMuskegonCommercialAcademy。Youareaforeigner，andyouwillhaveadifficultyinacceptingtherealityofthisseatofeducation。IassureyoubeforeIbeginthatIamwhollyserious。Theplacereallyexisted，possiblyexiststo-day：
wewereproudofitintheState，assomethingexceptionallynineteenthcenturyandcivilized；andmyfather，whenhesawmetothecars，nodoubtconsideredhewasputtingmeinastraightlineforthePresidencyandtheNewJerusalem。
“Loudon。”saidhe，“IamnowgivingyouachancethatJuliusCaesarcouldnothavegiventohisson——achancetoseelifeasitis，beforeyourownturncomestostartinearnest。Avoidrashspeculation，trytobehavelikeagentleman；andifyouwilltakemyadvice，confineyourselftoasafe，conservativebusinessinrailroads。Breadstuffsaretempting，butverydangerous；I
wouldnottrybreadstuffsatyourtimeoflife；butyoumayfeelyourwayalittleinothercommodities。Takeapridetokeepyourbooksposted，andneverthrowgoodmoneyafterbad。
There，mydearboy，kissmegood-by；andneverforgetthatyouareanonlychick，andthatyourdadwatchesyourcareerwithfondsuspense。”
Thecommercialcollegewasafine，roomyestablishment，pleasantlysituateamongwoods。Theairwashealthy，thefoodexcellent，thepremiumhigh。Electricwiresconnectedit(tousethewordsoftheprospectus)with“thevariousworldcentres。”
Thereading-roomwaswellsuppliedwith“commercialorgans。”ThetalkwasthatofWallStreet；andthepupils(fromfiftytoahundredlads)wereprincipallyengagedinrookingortryingtorookoneanotherfornominalsumsinwhatwascalled“collegepaper。”Wehadclasshours，indeed，inthemorning，whenwestudiedGerman，French，book-keeping，andthelikegoodlymatters；butthebulkofourdayandthegistoftheeducationcentredintheexchange，whereweweretaughttogambleinproduceandsecurities。Sincenotoneoftheparticipantspossessedabushelofwheatoradollar’sworthofstock，legitimatebusinesswasofcourseimpossiblefromthebeginning。Itwascold-drawngambling，withoutcolourordisguise。Justthatwhichistheimpedimentanddestructionofallgenuinecommercialenterprise，justthatweweretaughtwitheveryluxuryofstageeffect。Oursimulacrumofamarketwasruledbytherealmarketsoutside，sothatwemightexperiencethecourseandvicissitudeofprices。Wemustkeepbooks，andourledgerswereoverhauledatthemonth’sendbytheprincipalorhisassistants。Toaddaspiceofverisimilitude，“collegepaper“(likepokerchips)hadanactualmarketablevalue。Itwasboughtforeachpupilbyanxiousparentsandguardiansattherateofonecentforthedollar。Thesamepupil，whenhiseducationwascomplete，resold，atthesamefigure，somuchaswaslefthimtothecollege；andeveninthemidstofhiscurriculum，asuccessfuloperatorwouldsometimesrealizeaproportionofhisholding，andstandasupperontheslyintheneighbouringhamlet。Inshort，iftherewaseveraworseeducation，itmusthavebeeninthatacademywhereOlivermetCharlieBates。
WhenIwasfirstguidedintotheexchangetohavemydeskpointedoutbyoneoftheassistantteachers，Iwasoverwhelmedbytheclamourandconfusion。Certainblackboardsattheotherendofthebuildingwerecoveredwithfigurescontinuallyreplaced。Aseachnewsetappeared，thepupilsswayedtoandfro，androaredoutaloudwithaformidableandtomequitemeaninglessvociferation；leapingatthesametimeuponthedesksandbenches，signallingwitharmsandheads，andscribblingbrisklyinnote-books。IthoughtIhadneverbeheldascenemoredisagreeable；andwhenIconsideredthatthewholetrafficwasillusory，andallthemoneythenuponthemarketwouldscarcehavesufficedtobuyapairofskates，Iwasatfirstastonished，althoughnotforlong。Indeed，Ihadnosoonercalledtomindhowgrown-upmenandwomenofconsiderableestatewilllosetheirtemperabouthalf-pennypoints，than(makinganimmediateallowanceformyfellow-students)I
transferredthewholeofmyastonishmenttotheassistantteacher，who——poorgentleman——hadquiteforgottoshowmetomydesk，andstoodinthemidstofthishurly-burly，absorbedandseeminglytransported。
“Look，look。”heshoutedinmyear；“afallingmarket！Thebearshavehaditalltheirownwaysinceyesterday。”