the days passed on to a certain saturday. an ominous saturday for the godolphins. rumours, vague at the best, and therefore all the more dangerous, had been spreading in prior’s ash and its neighbourhood. some said the bank had had a loss; some said the bank was shaky; some said mr. george godolphin had been lending money from the bank funds; some said their london agents had failed; some actually said that thomas godolphin was dead. the various turns taken by the rumour were extravagantly marvellous: but the whole, combined, whispered ominously of danger. only let public fear be thoroughly aroused, and it would be all over. it was as a train of powder laid, which only wants one touch of a lighted match to set it exploding.
remittances arrived on the saturday morning, in the ordinary course of business. valuable remittances. sufficient for the usual demands of the day: but not sufficient for any unusual demands. on the friday afternoon a somewhat untoward incident had occurred. a stranger presented himself at the bank and demanded to see mr. george godolphin. the clerk to whom he addressed himself left him standing at the counter and went away: to acquaint, as the stranger supposed, mr. george godolphin: but, in point of fact, the clerk was not sure whether mr. george was in or out. finding he was out, he told mr. hurde, who went forward: and was taken by the stranger for mr. george godolphin. not personally knowing (as it would appear) mr. george godolphin, it was a natural enough mistake. a staid old gentleman, in spectacles, might well be supposed by a stranger to be one of the firm.
“i have a claim upon you,” said the stranger, drawing a piece of paper out of his pocket. “will you be so good as to settle it?”
mr. hurde took the paper and glanced over it. it was an accepted bill, george godolphin’s name to it.
“i cannot say anything about this,” mr. hurde was beginning: but the applicant interrupted him.
“i don’t want anything said. i want it paid.”
“you should have heard me out,” rejoined mr. hurde. “i cannot say or do anything in this myself: you must see mr. george godolphin. he is out, but——”
“come, none of that gammon!” interposed the stranger again, who appeared to have come prepared to enter upon a contest. “i was warned there’d be a bother over it: that mr. george godolphin would deny himself, and say black was white, if necessary. you can’t do me, mr. george godolphin.”
[291]“you are not taking me for mr. george godolphin?” exclaimed the old clerk, uncertain whether to believe his ears.
“yes, i am taking you for mr. george godolphin,” doggedly returned the man. “will you take up this bill?”
“i am not mr. george godolphin. mr. george godolphin will be in presently, and you can see him.”
“it’s a do,” cried the stranger. “i want this paid. i know the claims there are against mr. george godolphin, and i have come all the way from town to enforce mine. i don’t want to come in with the ruck of his creditors, who’ll get a sixpence in the pound, maybe.”
a very charming announcement to be made in a banking-house. the clerks pricked up their ears; the two or three customers who were present turned round from the counters and listened for more: for the civil gentleman had not deemed it necessary to speak in a subdued tone. mr. hurde, scared out of his propriety, in mortal fear lest anything worse might come, hurried the man to a safe place, and left him there to await the entrance of mr. george godolphin.
whether this incident, mentioned outside (as it was sure to be), put the finishing touch to the rumours already in circulation, cannot be known. neither was it known to those interested, what mr. george did with his loud and uncompromising customer, when he at length entered and admitted him to an interview. it is possible that but for this untoward application, the crash might not have come quite so soon.
saturday morning rose busily, as was usual at prior’s ash. however stagnant the town might be on other days, saturday was always full of life and bustle. prior’s ash was renowned for its grain market; and dealers from all parts of the country flocked in to attend it. but on this morning some unusual excitement appeared to be stirring the town; natives and visitors. people stood about in groups, talking, listening, asking questions, consulting; and as the morning hours wore on, an unwonted stream appeared to be setting in towards the house of godolphin, crosse, and godolphin. whether the reports might be true or false, there would be no harm just to draw their money out and be on the safe side, was the mental remark made by hundreds. could put it in again when the storm had blown over—if it proved to be only a false alarm.
under these circumstances, little wonder that the bank was unusually favoured with visitors. one strange feature in their application was, that they all wanted to draw out money: not a soul came to pay any in. george godolphin, fully aware of the state of things, alive to the danger, was present in person, his words gracious, his bearing easy, his smile gay as ever. only to look at him eased some of them of half their doubt.
but it did not arrest their cheques and old hurde (whatever george might have done) grew paralyzed with fear.
“for the love of heaven, send for mr. godolphin, sir!” he whispered. “we can’t go on long at this rate.”
“what good can he do?” returned george.
“mr. george, he ought to be sent for; he ought to know what’s going[292] on; it is an imperative duty,” remonstrated the clerk, in a strangely severe tone. “in fact, sir, if you don’t send, i must. i am responsible to him.”
“send, then,” said george. “i only thought to spare him vexation.”
mr. hurde beckoned isaac hastings. “fly for your life up to ashlydyat, and see mr. godolphin,” he breathed in his ear. “tell him there’s a run upon the bank.”
isaac, passing through the bank with apparent unconcern, easy and careless as if he had taken a leaf from the book of george godolphin, did not let the grass grow under his feet when he was out. but, instead of turning towards ashlydyat, he took the way to all souls’ rectory.
arriving panting and breathless, he dashed in, and dashed against his brother reginald, not five minutes arrived from a two years’ absence at sea. scarcely giving half a moment to a passing greeting, he was hastening from the room again in search of his father.
“do you call that a welcome, isaac?” exclaimed mrs. hastings, in a surprised and reproving tone. “what’s your hurry? one would think you were upon an errand of life and death.”
“so i am: it is little short of it,” he replied in agitation. “regy, don’t stop me: you will know all soon. is my father in his room?”
“he has gone out,” said mrs. hastings.
“gone out!” the words sounded like a knell. unless his father hastened to the bank, he might be a ruined man. “where’s he gone, mother?”
“my dear, i have not the least idea. what is the matter with you?”
isaac took one instant’s dismayed counsel with himself: he had not time for more. he could not go off in search of him; he must hasten to ashlydyat. he looked up: laid summary hands upon his sister rose, put her outside the door, closed it, and set his back against it.
“reginald, listen to me. you must go out and find my father. search for him everywhere. tell him there’s a run upon the bank, and he must make haste if he would find himself safe. mother, could you look for him as well? the chisholms’ money is there, you know, and it would be nothing but ruin.”
mrs. hastings gazed at isaac with wondering eyes, puzzled with perplexity.
“don’t you understand, mother?” he urged. “i can’t look for him: i ought not to have come out of my way as far as this. he must be found, so do your best, reginald. of course you will be cautious to say nothing abroad: i put rose out that she might not hear this.”
opening the door again, passing the indignant rose without so much as a word, isaac sped across the road, and dashed through some cross-fields and lanes to ashlydyat. his détour had not hindered him above three or four minutes, for he went at the pace of a steam-engine. he considered it—as hurde had said by mr. godolphin—an imperative duty to warn his father. thomas godolphin was not up when he reached ashlydyat. it was only between ten and eleven o’clock.
“i must see him, miss godolphin,” he said to janet. “it is absolutely necessary.”
[293]by words or by actions putting aside obstacles, he stood within thomas godolphin’s chamber. the latter had passed a night of suffering, its traces remaining on his countenance.
“i shall be down at the bank some time in the course of the day, isaac: though i am scarcely equal to it,” he observed, as soon as he saw him. “am i wanted for anything in particular?”
“i—i—am sent up to tell you bad news, sir,” replied isaac, feeling the communication an unpleasant one to make. “there’s a run upon the bank.”
“a run upon the bank!” repeated thomas godolphin, scarcely believing the information.
isaac explained. a complete run. for the last hour, ever since the bank opened, people had been thronging in.
thomas paused. “i cannot imagine what can have led to it,” he resumed. “is my brother visible?”
“oh yes, sir.”
“that is well. he can assure them all that we are solvent: that there is no fear. have the remittances come down?”
“yes, sir. but they will be nothing, mr. hurde says, with a run like this.”
“be so kind as to touch that bell for me, isaac, to bring up my servant. i will be at the bank immediately.”
isaac rang the bell, left the room, and hastened back again. the bank was fuller than ever: and its coffers must be getting low.
“do you happen to know whether my father has been in?” he whispered to layton, next to whom he stood.
layton shook his head negatively. “i think not. i have not observed him.”
isaac stood upon thorns. he might not quit his post. every time the doors swung to and fro—and they were incessantly swinging—he looked for mr. hastings. but he looked in vain. by-and-by mr. hurde came forward, a note in his hand. “put on your hat, layton, and take this round,” said he. “wait for an answer.”
“let me take it,” almost shouted isaac. and, without waiting for assent or dissent, he seized the note from mr. hurde’s hand, caught up his hat, and was gone. thomas godolphin was stepping from his carriage as he passed out.
isaac had not, this time, to go out of his way. the delivery of the note would necessitate his passing the rectory. “rose!” he uttered, out of breath with agitation as he had been before, “is papa not in?”
rose was sitting there alone. “no,” she answered. “mamma and reginald went out just after you. where did you send them to?”
“then they can’t find him!” muttered isaac to himself, speeding off again, and giving rose no answer. “it will be nothing but ruin.”
a few steps farther, and whom should he see but his father. the reverend mr. hastings was coming leisurely across the fields, from the very direction which isaac had previously travelled. he had probably been to the pollard cottages: he did sometimes take that round. hedges and ditches were nothing to isaac in the moment’s excitement, and he leaped one of each to get to him; it cut off a step or two.
[294]“where were you going an hour ago?” called out mr. hastings before they met. “you were flying as swiftly as the wind.”
“oh, father!” wailed isaac; “did you see me?”
“what should hinder me? i was at old satcherley’s.”
“if you had only come out to me! i would rather have seen you then than—than—heaven,” he panted. “there’s a run upon the bank. if you don’t make haste and draw out your money, you’ll be too late.”
mr. hastings laid his hand upon isaac’s arm. it may be that he did not understand him; for his utterance was rapid and full of emotion. isaac, in his eagerness, shook it off.
“there’s not a moment to lose, father. i don’t fancy they can keep on paying long. half the town’s there.”
without another word of delay, mr. hastings turned and sped along with a step nearly as fleet as isaac’s. when he reached the bank the shutters were being put up.
“the bank has stopped,” said an officious bystander to the rector.
it was even so. the bank had stopped. the good old firm of godolphin, crosse, and godolphin had—gone!
