Salthaven

Salthaven, by W. W. Jacobs

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Title: Salthaven
Author: W. W. Jacobs
Release Date: June 25, 2007 [EBook #21930]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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SALTHAVEN ***

Produced by David Widger

SALTHAVEN
By W. W. Jacobs
1908
CHAPTER I

MR. JOHN VYNER, ship-owner, pushed his chair back from his
writing-table and gazed with kindly condescension at the chief clerk as
he stood before it with a handful of papers.
"We shall be able to relieve you of some of your work soon, Hartley,"
he said, slowly. "Mr. Robert will come into the firm next week." The
chief clerk bowed.
"Three years at Cambridge," resumed Mr. Vyner, meditatively, "and
two years spent up and down the world studying the business methods
of other nations ought to render him invaluable to us."
"No doubt, sir," said Hartley. "It is an excellent training."
"For a time," said the ship-owner, leaning back and placing the tips of
his fingers together, "for a time I am afraid that he will have to have
your room. Later on--ha--if a room should--ha--fall vacant in the
building, we might consider taking it."
"Yes, sir," said the other.
"And, of course," resumed Mr. Vyner, "there is one great advantage in
your being in the general office which must not be overlooked; you can
keep an eye on the juniors better."
"It is cheerful, too, sir," suggested the chief clerk; "the only thing--"
"Yes?" said Mr. Vyner, somewhat loudly.
Mr. Hartley shrank a little. "I was going to say that it is rather a small
room for Mr. Robert," he said, quickly.
"It will do for a time," said the other.
"And--and I think I told you, sir, that there is an unpleasant sm--odour."
Mr. Vyner knitted his brows. "I offered to have that seen to, but you
said that you didn't mind it," he remarked.

"Just so, sir," said Hartley; "but I was thinking of Mr. Robert. He might
not like it; it's very strong at times--very strong indeed."
"You ought to have had it attended to before," said Mr. Vyner, with
some severity. "You had better call at Gillows' on your way home and
ask them to send a man up first thing to-morrow morning."
He drew his chair to the table again, and Hartley, after lingering a
moment, withdrew to his own room.
Ten out of his thirty-five years of service had been passed there, and he
stifled a sigh as he looked at the neat array of drawers and pigeon-holes,
the window overlooking the bridge and harbour, and the stationer's
almanac which hung over the fireplace. The japanned letter-rack and
the gum-bottle on the small mantelpiece were old friends.
The day's work completed, he walked home in sober thought. It was a
pleasant afternoon in May, but he was too preoccupied to pay any heed
to the weather, and, after informing a man who stopped him to tell him
that he had lost a wife, six children, and a right leg, that it was just five
minutes past six, resumed his way with a hazy idea of having been
useful to a fellow-creature.
He brightened a little as he left the bustle of the town behind, and from
sheer force of habit glanced at the trim front-gardens as he passed. The
cloud lifted still more as he reached his own garden and mentally
compared his flowers with those he had just passed.
His daughter was out, and tea for one was laid in the front room. He
drew his chair to the table, and taking up the tea-pot, which the maid
had just brought in, poured himself out a cup of tea.
He looked round the comfortable room with pleasure. After all, nobody
could take that from him. He stirred his tea and had just raised the cup
to his lips when he set it down untasted and sat staring blankly before
him. A low rumble of voices from the kitchen fell unpleasantly on his
ear; and his daughter Joan had left instructions too specific to be
misunderstood as to his behaviour in the event of Rosa entertaining

male company during her absence. He coughed twice, loudly, and was
glad to note the disappearance of the rumble. Pleased with his success
he coughed a third time, a sonorous cough charged with importance. A
whispered rumble, possibly a suggestion of withdrawal, came from the
kitchen.
"Only his tea gone the wrong way," he heard, reassuringly, from Rosa.