"I am glad to hear it, Tom. Did the claim prove more productive?"
"No; but I have been speculating. Guess how much money I have with me."
"A hundred and fifty dollars."
"More."
"Two hundred."
"More yet."
"Not three hundred, Tom?"
"I won"t make you guess any more. I have seven hundred dollars. No wonder you look surprised. I"ll tell you how I made it;" and Tom repeated the story of his purchase and its profitable sale.
"I am not so much surprised now," said Miles, "for in this country a man will have what he takes a fancy to, no matter what it costs. I am glad the good luck came to you and Mr. Ferguson. I shouldn"t mind having that amount of money myself."
"What would you do with it?"
"I would buy out my employer, and then I could make money fast."
"Does he want to sell?"
"Yes, he wants to go to the mines."
"Would he sell for such a small sum?"
"Yes; there isn"t much of a stock, but we are constantly replenishing. I tell you what, Tom, _you_ buy him out, and I"ll manage the business."
"Are you in earnest, John?"
"Certainly I am."
"But I want to send some money home," objected Tom.
"How much?"
"A hundred dollars at least."
"I"ll lend you the hundred, my lad," said Ferguson, "and fifty more, and you can take your own money and buy the business. I don"t favor acting hastily, in general, but I have faith in our friend here, and I am led to believe that the enterprise will be a profitable one."
"You"ll be my partner, Tom, and I"ll give you a third of the profits without your doing a thing. If you work with me, you shall have as much more as will be satisfactory."
"I would rather go back to the mines, John, and leave you to manage this business by yourself. A quarter of the profits will satisfy me."
"No, it shall be a third. As you furnish the capital, that is only fair."
"We may be counting our chickens too soon. Perhaps your Dutch friend, whose name I can"t p.r.o.nounce, won"t sell."
"Here he is to speak for himself."
A short German, with a ponderous frame, and a broad, good-humored face, here entered the grocery, panting with the exertion of walking, and looked inquiringly at Tom and the Scotchman.
"Herr Sc.h.i.n.kelwitz, this is my friend, Tom Nelson," said Miles.
"Glad to see you, mine vriend," said the German, addressing Ferguson.
"No, that is Mr. Ferguson," said Miles, smiling. "I should have introduced him first."
"Wie gehts, Herr Ferguson?" said the grocer. "You have one strange name."
"Your name seems strange to me," said the Scotchman.
"Oh, no; Sc.h.i.n.kelwitz is a very common name. Most peoples admire my name."
Tom was considerably amused, but Herr Sc.h.i.n.kelwitz did not observe the smile which he could not repress.
"I have told my friends you would like to sell out the business," said Miles.
"Oh, ja, it is a good business, but my health is not good. I think it will be much better at the mines. You will do well to buy it yourself."
"I would if I had money enough."
"Ja, I must have the money, for I shall need it."
"My friend here has money, and may buy of you," said Miles, indicating Tom.
"What, the boy?"
"Yes."
"Where did he get so much money?"
"At the mines."
"Oh, ja, that is a good place to get gold. Well, my young vriend, I will sell cheap."
It will not be necessary to enter into a detailed account of the negotiation. It is enough to say that for the sum of seven hundred dollars Herr Sc.h.i.n.kelwitz made over the business to Herr Tom, as he called him, and our hero found himself penniless, but the owner of a grocery. In half an hour it was all completed.
"Now, Tom, you are my boss," said Miles. "Shall I put your name outside?"
"No, John, put your own. I am only a silent partner, you know."
"I congratulate you, Tom," said Ferguson. "Here are two hundred dollars, for which you can give me your note."
"Two hundred?"
"Yes; you will need some yourself, besides what you send to your father."