But soon people found other
things to say of Heyst; not long afterwards he came very much to the
fore in larger affairs. He blossomed out into something definite. He
filled the public eye as the manager on the spot of the Tropical Belt
Coal Company with offices in London and Amsterdam, and other things
about it that sounded and looked grandiose. The offices in the two
capitals may have consisted--and probably did--of one room in each;
but at that distance, out East there, all this had an air. We were more
puzzled than dazzled, it is true; but even the most sober-minded among
us began to think that there was something in it. The Tesmans appointed
agents, a contract for government mail-boats secured, the era of steam
beginning for the islands--a great stride forward--Heyst's stride!
And all this sprang from the meeting of the cornered Morrison and of the
wandering Heyst, which may or may not have been the direct outcome of a
prayer. Morrison was not an imbecile, but he seemed to have got himself
into a state of remarkable haziness as to his exact position towards
Heyst. For, if Heyst had been sent with money in his pocket by a direct
decree of the Almighty in answer to Morrison's prayer then there was no
reason for special gratitude, since obviously he could not help himself.
But Morrison believed both, in the efficacy of prayer and in the
infinite goodness of Heyst.
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