t come, to alter
the present relations. His marriage to Alice would be a step of prime
importance, but this alone was not enough. As Gorham's son-in-law he
would still be his subordinate, and Covington's nature demanded an
opportunity to stand at least on a basis of equality with his present
chief, sharing with him the arrogance of the prerogatives and the
absolute autocracy now assumed alone by Gorham in dominating the policy
of the business.

In Covington's opinion, Gorham was carrying the principles upon which
the Consolidated Companies was based beyond all reason. The corporation
had passed the experimental stage, and now possessed ample strength to
take advantage with safety of its unique position. Gorham was right, he
admitted, in his idea that public necessities ought to be reduced in
price when once controlled by the Companies. The public approval and
general confidence which this established were of distinct value, but
there was absolutely no reason for continuing to give the public so
large a share of the saving. It was not so much the amount that was
saved as the fact that a saving was actually accomplished which served
to advertise the Consolidated Companies. Gorham's real motive could be
only to strengthen his personal prestige. Several of the other directors
shared this conviction with Covington, and he made it his business to
discover just where each one stood against the time when this
information should serve him in good stead.

The executive offices of the Consolidated Companies occupied an entire
floor in one of the most spacious buildings on Broadway, yet to a casual
visitor they gave little indication of the vast power which centred
there. The rooms were substantially furnished, but everything evidenced
a restraint equal almost to the conservatism which is so distinguishing
a mark of the old-established English houses. This was an expression of
Robert Gorham's individuality, and the Companies itself reflected it in
its modest exterior appearance as in all other features, emphasizing the
one influence which held together and amalgamated into a composite unit
the many factors which necessarily formed the integral parts.

Gorham's ideas of business management were scientific, and his first
step, after absorbing a new concern, was to have the principles of
science introduced. He insisted that the workman should be supplemented
by close co-operation on the part of the management in laying out his
work