New-York tribune., 1903-07-11
CHAPTER VII.
ENTER CHARGES.

Offices over the top floor OF the Galton Building.
To have office room at all in the Galton Build
ing is a certificate of character. Cations is al
most the smallest of the structures which have
made Carfax celebrated. 1t has been said that
merchants in Carfax have no chance of seeing
into heaven except from the tops of their own
buildings: and there are architectural mon
strosities which climb to such lofty height
that the statement is given point. But the Gal
ton Building is low-fve stories in all Old man
Galton made a fortune in plumbers supplies.
He was a whimsical Old Scotchman. of the kind
who save herocally until they are ready TO
spend, then spend with equal heroism, to suit
themselves He determined TO erect building
OF a sort new to CarfaX.
Wen have ma cheap johns in the place" he
observed to his architect. Ma buildin'H hoose
only the honest men O. Carfax and man, weH
max it sma' accordin'." Small it was made;
high of rent; it is always full. too, in spite of
the old mans lest and in spite of the EiSid ex-
animation into business antecedents which every
new applicant for space must undergo Inc
untried lawyer and the surgeon who has yet 70
flesh his instruments are ruled out or Cation
as sternly as the promoter is and men OF all
sorts whose mercantile or professional morality
will not stand investigation. Consequently an
office in Cations is better than standing In
Bradstreet's.
modernity Of its elevators. the precise complete
ness of it's whole equipment. have much to
do with filing Cations as the desire a man has
to be known by the company he keeps. Ger
tainly Alexander Cation was no Jerry builder
The architect ventured to point out that in varl-
Gus fashions money might be unostentatiously
saved here and there, but Galton shook his
head serenely
IN be gettin' ma sax per centum yet" said
he AN as for the rest I'll gle it up for the
preeveleege of bein' oreeginal." Which ne did,
and went to his reward we'll content apparently.
You entered Cations by two great doors
which swung easily and noiselessly on pivots,
into a central court paved with gray marble in
small squares. A bronze statue of the old man,
in a frock coat, with every wrinkle of his Gale
donian face present at the roll call. Ornamented
the centre of the court. and the names of Gal
toms tenants were arranged upon the pedestal.
Galton lay underneath. "Ay, man. put
there" he said. with honest men all around
me; twill be a treat to me I'm used to
have in CarfaX" Gray marble stairs made
broad and easy climbed quadrilaterally about
the court, and slow, silent. comfortable eleva-
tors were ranged on one side. By one of these
you were carried to the fifth floor if your
rand was to Barrett Barrett & Coopers.
Their offices take up three sides of the square.
You behold a door beneath the comforting leg
end. blazoned In gilt Walk IN and find your
self part of large room. 1t is paneled in red
wood, d redwood bench round two sides of
the polished floor. and beyond is a japanese
railing. There sits an attendant in a dark red
uniform an urbane and courteous young man
always, not to be irritated discomposed. He
places your name in tiny redwood box and
releases a spring. whereupon the redwood box
disappears. When 1t returns. if you are per-
mitted to the railing, you go through
solid and smoothly swinging door TO find your
self in another anteroom redwood Ike the first
but smaller. and furnished with is instead
OF a bench. Through door of this room IL
it chances TO stand ajar, you may see into very
large apartment occupied by numerous desks
This is the famous Heaven which the Trinity
rule over; the room of the young men of Bar
rett. Barrett & Cooper; he to which Brad
ford was admitted by virtue of the pickle MAX
er's favor. A desk in this room was held to in
sure mans future. If he had the stuff in him.
Next to the door of Heaven another door al
lowed entrance-to the offices OF the firm? Not
at all; to the Offices of their private secretaries
Beyond that. however. at last was hallway
from which you were received into the sancta
Of Cd Barrett Junior, % Old Tom Cooper, 90
Barrett Senior-the Carfax Trinity
And when you went out? This ultimate hall
way ended in door which opened from the
inside only Passing through you found your
self before the elevators again; you had gone
round three sides of a square, and you were
close enough to touch, If you were so minded.
that beautifully gilded sign which Hospitality
urged you TO Walk in
So Bradford explained it to the Residuum on
the evening after the Cravens' tea He smoked
meditatively as he estimated the partners
Il didn't much care about 'Son'-young Bar
rett, that is He has a black, little. spiky lit
he lr6 %a,lr
to match. But the old gentleman is wonderful.
wish you could see him. Shedsy. I was called
into his office, Of course, to be exhorted. After
Of a would you naturally expect?-a
snaky headed dragon with Medusa glare was
about what I was looking for Ny knees wab-
bled as l walked, and 1 muttered prayers. Be
hold white haired, clean shaven, pink checked.
blue eyed old boy, like Friar Tuck. only not
fat; complexion like a girls. and sense of
humor that must be fatal to the business. He
talked to like a father; told long story
to illustrate the ways in which I could help out
the firm. You see. all salary. and
any business we get goes to the firms ex-
chequer. He said that forty years ago he began
just as we were beginning now He used TO be
sent with blanks. and briefs. and on TO the
printers and he gotDto be a friend OF the
printer. and secured his confidence. So. in
few weeks. Mr.. Printer gave him some bills to
colect-old dead dogs. that man in his
senses would expect TO get the money out of.
But Barrett said he hammered away at them,
in season and out of season one of them was
for $50 against a contractor named McGuirk.
who came TO see Barrett said he couldn't pay
that or any other OF his bills. anyway and
asked what it would cost to put him into bank
ruptcy Barrett knew much about putting
a man INTO bankruptcy as a hen does about