eyes rested upon him with his last words, that it was to him that the
work was entrusted, that upon him was the responsibility, that he would
be the one called to account. This did not oppress him; it sobered him.
As Seymour finally left the office, Winston turned to Elijah.

"It's up to us now to show what there is in us."

CHAPTER SIX

It did not follow because Seymour had promised to back the Las Cruces
Water Company to the extent of one hundred thousand dollars, that he
intended to put in that amount of his own money; nor because he had
promised a certain sum, that that sum was the limit. He had become
thoroughly convinced that the enterprise was well conceived and that
with proper management it was bound to succeed and to "succeed big." He
wisely concluded that those who had conceived the project and had
figured out so minutely the cost and detail, were the proper ones to
trust with its execution. He was too cold blooded to be figurative, but
Winston's figure to Elijah exactly expressed his attitude of mind.
Elijah furnished the fizz of enthusiasm, while Winston supplied the
necessary body to the wine, with his well-balanced, matter-of-fact mind.
There was nothing in his contract to prevent his disposing at par of one
half of the two hundred thousand shares which he had acquired at fifty,
and this was the step which he proposed to take and which he did take.
He too regarded the laborer as worthy of his hire.

Mr. Seymour was a business man. He was shrewd and he was very
successful. It did not necessarily follow that he was unscrupulous. In
fact, from a purely business standpoint, he was not; but he had no
Quixotic limitations to the end that he was his brother's keeper. The
world was full of disastrous mistakes; he took it as he found it. He did
not count as a sin of his own, the omission to do good unto others when
opportunity offered; but he regarded the opportunity as an indication of
sin or at least of poor judgment in his fellow. He was a church
communicant in good and regular standing; but religion was one thing,
business another. He did not search the scriptures either for
approbation or for defense. He acted upon the principle that offenses
must be and that woe was the lot of the one through whom they came. The
woe that was visited upon the offender was in reality no less a reward
of merit than the benefit which accrued to the one who was wise enough
to take advantage of the offense. He never p