that word, say 'self-respecting.' You might
take longer views and look ahead."

"You may bet your boots I do that, Dan. This life isn't so delightful
that I am content to live in the present hour, I assure you. I look
ahead all right."

"I mean look ahead for the sake of the business, not for your own sake.
I don't want to preach, or any nonsense of that kind; but there's nobody
else to speak, so I must. The point is that you don't see in the least
what you are doing here. In the future my idea was--and yours, too, I
suppose--that you came into the business as joint partner with me in
everything."

"Jolly sporting of you, Dan."

"But that being so, can't you see you ought to support me in
everything?"

"I do."

"No, you don't. You're not taking the right line in the least, and
what's more, I believe you know it yourself. Don't think I'm selfish
and careless about our people, or indifferent to their needs and rights.
I'm quite as keen about their welfare as you are; but one can't do
everything in a moment. And you're not helping them and only hindering
me by talking a lot of rubbish to them."

"It isn't rubbish, Dan. I had all the facts from Levi Baggs, the
hackler. He understands the claims of capital and what labour is
entitled to, and all the rest of it."

"Baggs is a sour, one-sided man and will only give you a biased and
wrong view. If you want to know the truth, you can come into Bridport
and study it. Then you'll see exactly what things are worth, and what we
get paid in open market for our goods. All you do by listening to Levi
is to waste your time and waste his. And then you wander about among the
women talking nonsense. And remember this: they know it's nonsense.
They understand the question very much better than you do, and instead
of respecting you, as they ought to respect a future master, they only
laugh at you behind your back. And what will the result be? Why, when
you come to have a voice in the thing, they'll remind you of all your
big talk. And then you've got to climb down and they'll not respect you,
or take you seriously."

"All right, old chap--enough said. Only you needn't think the people
wouldn't respect me. I get on jolly well with them as a matter of fact.
And I do look ahead--perhaps further than you do. I certainly wouldn't
promise anything I wouldn't try to perform. In fact, I'm very keen about
them. And I believe if we scrapped all the machinery and got new--"

"When you've