The Man Whose Dream Came True Read Online Free PDF

‘I remember you, you’re the man who sold me that dud car,’ what would he say? Perhaps an outright denial would be the best thing. But lunch passed without the decisive word being spoken, and over coffee he saw a chance and took it. Hasty had been talking about spending some time in Edinburgh, and Tony repeated the name of the city.
    ‘What’s that?’ The bird eye swivelled.
    ‘It’s where we met. You say you were up there on the Commonwealth Research Board. I was working with a group collecting funds and goods for the underdeveloped countries.’ It was true that he had worked in Scotland for eighteen months as local representative of an insurance company that had gone suddenly into liquidation.
    ‘Maybe.’ Hasty did not sound enthusiastic. ‘Some of those crackpot committees did more harm than good. No use coddling these chaps. Got to tell ’em, not ask ’em.’
    ‘Just what I thought. That’s why I gave it up.’
    ‘Finished your coffee?’ The General was fretting. ‘Come on then, Ted. I’ve got something here that’s going to shake your ideas up. Not logistics, just plain common sense. I’ve got some letters that will surprise you.’
    They went to the library. The General was exhilarated by such discussions, and today his back was straight and his manner commanding, as they must have been twenty-five years ago. Tony excused himself, saying that he wanted to go round the farms. Before doing so he rang the Golden Sovereign again, spoke to Armitage, and learned that the letter had been sent by mistake.
    ‘You can tear it up, though I wouldn’t say that if it had been left to me.’ Armitage sounded venomous. ‘Cotton makes us pay five per cent of bad debts.’
    ‘I didn’t like the tone of it,’ Tony said boldly. ‘If I had a word with Mr Cotton he might not like it either.’
    The telephone was slammed down without reply. He need not have drawn out the money, but there was no need to worry about that for some weeks. He drove round the farm and had a long talk with one of the farmers about repairs needed to one of his barns. Tony promised to look into it. Whatever builder was employed, it would not be Clinker.
    When he got back Hasty’s car had gone. He met Doris in the hall and asked her if anything had happened.
    ‘Only one telephone call. For the master. He’s in the study, asking for you. Soon as you came in, he said.’
    So Hasty had remembered. Well, he would simply deny it, that was all. It was one man’s word against another’s. He gave Doris a little pat on the bottom as she turned away.
    In the library the General sat at the desk with some of the precious papers in front of him. His knotted hands rested on them. Against the light from the window his fine profile looked weary.
    ‘Sit down.’ Tony sat. The General did not look at him, did not speak.
    He felt it necessary to break the silence. ‘I don’t know what Colonel Hasty has said–’
    ‘Hasty?’ Eyebrows were raised in surprise. ‘He thought you seemed a nice young chap.’
    Everything was all right. As a gambler he knew that if you played your luck you couldn’t lose. But why was the old man so silent? ‘How did the discussion go?’
    ‘I’m an old fool.’ Was that a reply to what he had said? ‘Should have known better.’
    What was he going on about? From the papers on the desk the knotted hand picked a piece of pink paper, held it out. He stared at it unbelievingly. It was the cheque he had cashed that morning.
    ‘The bank called me up. Couldn’t understand it. Then they sent this back.’ But why, he wanted to ask, but why? The knotted hand pointed to the signature. What was wrong with it? ‘Geoffrey’, he read, admiring again the tail at the end of the ‘y’. Then he looked again. ‘Geofrey’: he had missed out one ‘f’.
    ‘Well done but careless.’ The old voice spoke heavily. The piece of paper was torn across once, then again. The pieces fluttered on the floor. So he was not going to do