"It"s quite in keeping with your methods of the day," rejoined Gresham.
"I still insist that you took an unfair advantage of me."
The colonel, who regretted to be compelled to dislike anybody, turned upon Gresham a dissatisfied eye.
"Oh, play the game or stay out of it!" he advised. "I"ll see you at my lawyer"s to-morrow at eleven. Come with me a minute, Johnny. I want you to meet a friend of mine who has a big real estate deal on tap, and he may not go back on our train to-night."
Johnny Gamble made his adieus from the Boyden box with reluctance. The horses were lining up at the barrier for the last race, and he might not return in time. While he was bidding a thoroughly inadequate good-by to Constance, Loring came up hastily and called Polly from the box.
"Sammy Chirp called my attention to Gresham and Collaton talking together rather furtively down under the grandstand a few minutes ago,"
he said. "I have a curious impression that they mean harm to Gamble."
"It was Gresham got the harm. Johnny just beat him to a fifteen-thousand-dollar profit."
"So that was it," said Loring with a frown. "Tell him to watch out.
They were about to attach his bank-account the last time he paid an unexpected note," and he lounged into the box.
Polly followed Johnny Gamble when he started to rejoin the colonel.
"Do me a favor, please, Johnny," she begged.
"Certainly," he returned. "Do you know what it is?"
"Here"s my fountain-pen. Indorse that check over to me, won"t you?"
"What"s the joke?" he asked.
"I don"t want you to have the money. I"m in a hurry now."
"Well, I"m broke again," laughed Johnny in perfect confidence; and he indorsed the check.
"The most thoroughgoing plebe I ever saw," Gresham commented, looking after Gamble. "It"s so fortunate that one is only compelled to meet him in public places."
Constance glanced at him curiously and hurried to the rear rail of the box. She barely mentioned Mr. Gamble"s name, and it was surprising how easily he heard her and how quickly he came back.
"I forgot to ask you to call," she said. "If you can spare any time from your pursuit of that million dollars we should be glad to see you at the house--Aunt Pattie and I."
"Will you be busy to-morrow evening?" he briskly inquired.
"There"s no one expected but Mr. Gresham," she informed him with a smile at his precipitancy.
"I"ll be there," he stated with businesslike decisiveness. "I"ll bring along from five to twenty thousand dollars" worth of time and use up as much of it as you"ll let me."
"I"ll have a meter," she laughed.
CHAPTER V
IN WHICH JOHNNY DISPLAYS TALENT AS A TRUE PROMOTER
"I don"t know much about bookkeeping, but I guess this will do,"
observed Johnny, pa.s.sing over his first attempt for inspection.
Loring examined the little book with keen enjoyment. Johnny had opened an account with himself and had made five entries. On the debit side appeared the following items:
April 22. To three working hours, $15,000 April 23. Sunday.
April 24. To desk rent, ...$38 April 24. To seven working hours, $35,000
On the credit side was this:
April 22. By skinning Paul Gresham--good work, ..... $15,000
"How is it?" asked Gamble anxiously.
"Good work!" p.r.o.nounced Loring with a chuckle. "They may not teach this sort of bookkeeping in commercial colleges. Their kind is stiff and dry. This has personality. Why am I two dollars shy on desk rent, though? I thought you were to take forty days to make your million dollars?"
"That"s right," admitted Johnny; "seven hours on week-days and three on Sat.u.r.days--two hundred hours at five thousand an hour. I started on Sat.u.r.day, however. To-day is Monday. This morning is when I begin to use your desk-room. Here"s your dollar a day until four P.M., May thirty-first." And he handed Loring thirty-eight dollars.
"You"re not really going to try that absurd stunt?" protested Loring incredulously.
"I have to. Miss Joy will think I"m a four-flusher if I don"t."
"Miss Joy again!" laughed Loring. "You only met her Sat.u.r.day, and I don"t think you"ve thought of another thing since."
"Gresham and her million," corrected Johnny, and he started for the door.
"Where are you going--if anybody should ask for you?" inquired Loring.
"Fourth National."
"To deposit Gresham"s fifteen thousand?"
"No," laughed Gamble. "Polly took that away from me."
"That"s a good safe place for it," returned Loring, relieved.
"Safe as the mint," corroborated Johnny, and hurried out.
As he went up the steps of the Fourth National Bank a pallid-faced young man, with eyebrows, eyelashes and hair so nearly the color of his skin that they were invisible, watched him out of the window of a taxi that had been standing across the street ever since the bank had opened. As soon as Johnny entered the door the young man gave a direction to the driver, and the taxi hurried away.
President Close was conservatively glad to see Johnny. He was a crisp-faced man, with an extremely tight-cropped gray mustache; and not a single crease in his countenance was flexible in the slightest degree. He had an admiration amounting almost to affection for Johnny--provided the promising young man did not want money.
"Good morning," he greeted his caller. "What can we do for you to-day?"
And in great haste he mentally reviewed the contents of credit envelope G-237. That envelope, being devoted to Mr. Gamble, contained a very clear record; so Mr. Close came as near to smiling as those cast-iron creases would allow.
"Want to give the Fourth National as a reference," returned Johnny cheerfully.