All 5 Uses

consequence
in
Into the Wild
(Edited)

It was an uncharacteristic break from his cover that might easily have alerted his parents to his whereabouts, although the lapse proved to be of no consequence because the private investigator hired by Walt and Billie never caught the slip.
p. 40.1 *

consequence = importance
Though the result were bodily weakness, yet perhaps no one can say that the consequences were to be regretted, for these were a life in conformity to higher principles.
p. 47.1

consequences = results
As a consequence the troopers were swamped with calls from people claiming to know the hiker's identity, so they were even less receptive to Westerberg than they had been to Gallien.
p. 100.7

consequence = result
And he was often frustrated as a consequence.
p. 111.6
From all the available evidence, there seemed to be little doubt that McCandless, rash and incautious by nature, had committed a careless blunder, confusing one plant for another, and died as a consequence.
p. 192.4 *

Definitions:

(1) (consequence as in: a direct consequence of)
a result of something (often an undesired side effect)
(2) (consequence as in: of little consequence)
importance or relevance
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
In classic literature, consequential may refer to someone with too much feeling of self-importance as when Dickens wrote "Because he's a proud, haughty, consequential, turned-up-nosed peacock."

Self-consequence was used in a similar manner, but is more easily understood by modern readers since important is one of the modern senses of consequence.

Another classic sense of consequent that is similar to importance or significance refers to "material wealth or prominence" as when Jane Austen wrote: "They had each had money, but their marriages had made a material difference in their degree of consequence."