“I wish to see Mr. J. E. Sterling,” he said.
“My name is Sterling,” replied the younger man, putting down his tools, and coming forward.
“I understood,” went on Stranleigh, “that there was a Sterling Motor Car Company.”
“There will be,” answered the young man confidently, “but that’s in the sweet by and by. It hasn’t materialised so far. What can I do for you?”
“Well, you can give me some information regarding J. E. Sterling. I want to learn if it tallies with what I have heard.”
The young man laughed.
“It depends on who has been talking about me. I daresay you have been told things that might require explanation.”
“I heard nothing but praise,” his lordship assured him. “It was said you were the true successor of Thomas Alva Edison.”
Sterling laughed even more heartily than before.
“I’m afraid they were getting at you. A man may be a creditable inventor, and a good, all-round engineer without being able to hold a candle to Edison. Are you looking for an automobile?”
“No; as I told you at first, I am looking for J. E. Sterling.”
“I was going to say that I am not yet prepared to supply cars. I do repairing and that sort of thing, merely to keep the wolf from the door, and leave me a little surplus to expend in my business. My real work, however, is experimenting, and when I am able to turn out a machine that satisfies me, my next business will be to form a company, for one can’t do anything in this trade without capital.”
“The competition must be intense.”
“It is, but there’s always room for a first-rate article, and the production of a first-rate article is my ambition.”
“Is that your work in the window?”
“Yes.”
“Does it come up to your expectations?”
The young man’s face grew serious; his brow wrinkled almost into a frown, and he remained silent for a few moments.
“Well, I can’t exactly say that it does,” he answered at last, “still, I think the faults I have found can be remedied with a little patience. On the other hand, I fear the improvement I have put in this car may not be as great as I thought when I was working at it.”
Lord Stranleigh looked at the young man with evident approval; his frankness and honesty commended themselves to him.
“Do you mind showing me your improvement and explaining its function?”
“Not at all. You will remember, however, that this exhibition is confidential, for I have not yet patented the mechanism.”
“I shall not mention to anyone what you show me. You asked me a moment ago if I wished to buy an automobile, and I said I did not. I have made a little money in my time, but mostly, it seems to me, by flukes. I do not pretend to be a business man, yet such is the conceit of humanity that I wish to invest some of my money to back my own judgment. If I lose the cash, it won’t cripple me to any appreciable extent. On the other hand, should the investment prove satisfactory, I shall have more faith in my judgment than has hitherto been the case. In any event, I promise to assist you in the formation of your company.”
“That’s all right!” cried the young engineer, with enthusiasm. “My own judgment of men is frequently at fault, but somehow I’d stake my bottom dollar on you. Come over to the window, and I’ll show you how the wheels go round.”
The two men approached the car in the window, and as they did so a third person on the pavement outside stopped suddenly, and regarded them with evident astonishment. Neither of those inside saw him, but if one or the other had looked through the glass, he would have recognised the sinister face of Wentworth Parkes who, having satisfied himself as to the visitor’s identity, turned away and retraced his steps.
Sterling lifted up a leather curtain which hung down in front from the passenger’s seat and disclosed a line of three upright pegs, rising two or three inches from the floor of the car. They were concealed when the curtain was lowered.
“If you give the matter any thought,” said Sterling, “you will discover that the passenger in an automobile is in rather a helpless position. His chauffeur may faint, or even die at his wheel from heart failure, as has been the case in several instances I know of, or he may be drunk, and therefore unreasonable or obstinate, driving the car with danger to all concerned, yet if his master attempt to displace him while the car is going at high speed, disaster is certain. Now, the centre peg here will stop the engine and put on the brakes. A pressure by the foot on the right-hand peg turns the car to the right; and on the left-hand to the left. In the ordinary car the passenger can do nothing to save himself, but here he may stop the car dead, or, if he prefers it, may disconnect the steering wheel, and guide the car at his will.”
“Why, I think that’s an excellent device!” cried Stranleigh.
“I thought so, too, but there are disadvantages. The crises in which it could be brought to play are rare. As a general rule, a chauffeur is much more to be trusted than the owner, and if the owner happens to be a nervous man, he might interfere, with deplorable results.”
“Yes,” said Stranleigh, “it’s like the pistol in Texas. You may not need it, but when you do you want it very badly. Has anyone else seen this contrivance?”
“No one except my assistant.”
“Could you lend me this car to-morrow?”
“Certainly.”
“Then place the car in charge of a competent chauffeur, who knows nothing of your safety device, and send it up to my hotel at eleven o’clock. Tell him to ask for Henry Johnson. I’ll take a little trip into the country, where I can test the car on some unfrequented road.”
“Better cross the river to Canada,” said Sterling, with a smile. “Things are quiet over there.”
“Very well,” agreed Stranleigh. “You are a busy man, and I have taken up a considerable amount of your time. You must allow me to pay you for it.”
The young man’s face grew red underneath its spots of grease, and he drew back a step.
“You have spent your own time to an equal amount, so we’ll allow one expenditure to balance the other.”
“My time is of no account. I’m a loafer.”
“I could not accept any money, sir.”
The two looked at one another for a moment, and gentlemen understand each other even though one wears the greasy clothes of a mechanic.
“I beg your pardon,” said Stranleigh, softly. “Now, let me ask you one question. Have you given an option on this business to anyone?”
Sterling glanced up in surprise.
“Why, yes, I did give an option to an Englishman. By the way, you’re English, are you not?”
“I was born over there.”
“This Englishman wasn’t your sort. He was a most plausible talker, and as I told you, my judgment of men is sometimes at fault. I gave him an option for two months, but I think all he wanted was to get an automobile for nothing. He said he represented a syndicate of English capitalists, some of whom were in New York, and he borrowed the only car I had completed at that time. That was four months ago. Like the preacher after the futile collection, I wanted to get back my hat at least, but although I wrote letter after letter, I never received any answer. It wasn’t worth my while to set the police on his track, so I tried to forget him, and succeeded until you spoke of an option just now.”
“That agreement lapsed two months ago?”
“Yes.”
“Then write out an option for me, good for a week.