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Page 56
'Look here, Smith,' said Mike earnestly, 'for goodness' sake don't go
playing the goat. There's no earthly need for you to get lugged into
this business. Don't you worry about me. I shall be all right.'
'I think,' said Psmith, 'that you will--when I have chatted with
Comrade Bickersdyke.'
22. And Take Steps
On returning to the bank, Mike found Mr Waller in the grip of a
peculiarly varied set of mixed feelings. Shortly after Mike's departure
for the Mecca, the cashier had been summoned once more into the
Presence, and had there been informed that, as apparently he had not
been directly responsible for the gross piece of carelessness by which
the bank had suffered so considerable a loss (here Sir John puffed out
his cheeks like a meditative toad), the matter, as far as he was
concerned, was at an end. On the other hand--! Here Mr Waller was
hauled over the coals for Incredible Rashness in allowing a mere junior
subordinate to handle important tasks like the paying out of money, and
so on, till he felt raw all over. However, it was not dismissal. That
was the great thing. And his principal sensation was one of relief.
Mingled with the relief were sympathy for Mike, gratitude to him for
having given himself up so promptly, and a curiously dazed sensation,
as if somebody had been hitting him on the head with a bolster.
All of which emotions, taken simultaneously, had the effect of
rendering him completely dumb when he saw Mike. He felt that he did not
know what to say to him. And as Mike, for his part, simply wanted to be
let alone, and not compelled to talk, conversation was at something of
a standstill in the Cash Department.
After five minutes, it occurred to Mr Waller that perhaps the best plan
would be to interview Psmith. Psmith would know exactly how matters
stood. He could not ask Mike point-blank whether he had been dismissed.
But there was the probability that Psmith had been informed and would
pass on the information.
Psmith received the cashier with a dignified kindliness.
'Oh, er, Smith,' said Mr Waller, 'I wanted just to ask you about
Jackson.'
Psmith bowed his head gravely.
'Exactly,' he said. 'Comrade Jackson. I think I may say that you have
come to the right man. Comrade Jackson has placed himself in my hands,
and I am dealing with his case. A somewhat tricky business, but I shall
see him through.'
'Has he--?' Mr Waller hesitated.
'You were saying?' said Psmith.
'Does Mr Bickersdyke intend to dismiss him?'
'At present,' admitted Psmith, 'there is some idea of that description
floating--nebulously, as it were--in Comrade Bickersdyke's mind.
Indeed, from what I gather from my client, the push was actually
administered, in so many words. But tush! And possibly bah! we know
what happens on these occasions, do we not? You and I are students of
human nature, and we know that a man of Comrade Bickersdyke's
warm-hearted type is apt to say in the heat of the moment a great deal
more than he really means. Men of his impulsive character cannot help
expressing themselves in times of stress with a certain generous
strength which those who do not understand them are inclined to take a
little too seriously. I shall have a chat with Comrade Bickersdyke at
the conclusion of the day's work, and I have no doubt that we shall
both laugh heartily over this little episode.'
Mr Waller pulled at his beard, with an expression on his face that
seemed to suggest that he was not quite so confident on this point. He
was about to put his doubts into words when Mr Rossiter appeared, and
Psmith, murmuring something about duty, turned again to his ledger. The
cashier drifted back to his own department.
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