Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 88: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

4 ‘ 78 spring it on Sylvester would surprize him no more than it would surprize a stock- gambler to tell him you knew he was buying on margin. But, if Williams could get the scorpion to believe he knew why he was buying or whom he was buying for— why, in. that case, he might do business. Because people who wanted to buy ships in anything but a very small way were at that time rare. “Of course, I wanted to know about you, and I paid to find out,” he growled. “How do you think I made my money—by selling boats? So I made up my mind to see you, because there was money in it. Because, of course, I found out you are trying to tie up a bunch of steamers on options.” ews AGAIN Sylvester rapidly worked SMe his hands and tongue, but his denial was weak. What would he throw away money like that for—ships not worth anything? Did the captain think him a fool to buy options when ships were not paying the owners enough to buy paint? He went on hastily to explain that he knew this because he sold paint, and he went off at a tangent, gabbling about the paint business until Williams shut him up again, grinning. He filled one of the glasses to the brim and drank to the staring scorpion. *“‘Now—” he put down the empty glass, “T know you're after options, but you’re not getting them as fast as you want because you have to go awful quiet about it. I, too, have bought options. Now, it doesn’t matter who will take them up— you know,and I know. The difference is that you are buying the options directly for the final buyers of the steamers, while I am buying on spec. with my own money. If I didn’t know that your people will be glad to take my options off my hands at a profit to me, you don’t think I'd have been fool enough to buy them, with times as they are, do you?” ” The fascinated Sylvester shook his head in agreement, “So I know who you're working for, and I know they want a lot of ships, I have between twenty and thirty Ax steamers tied up that I will turn over to ‘your people, and I have another fleet of seven right under my hand,” He was thinking of Silas and his unfortunate in- vestment in shipping. “Now, don’t ask Adventure tomorrow ness at the ri so good, the most shrewd men are the most credulous, especially when their suspicions can be aroused. é. “When can you deliver?” Sylvester, aceon everything, spoke like one deeply grieved. , “Whenever I want to. Charters and : ship can be transferred together, if neces- _ sary, but most of them are only chartered from voyage to voyage. Not a one of them is tied up for more than a month. But, of course, I have to give, in most cases, — a certain number of days’ notice.” For a moment Williams was afraid his limited knowledge had caused him to make a slip, but the scorpion appeared quite satisfied; so he went on. “But don’t imagine that I tied up forty or fifty thousand pounds for the fun of it. Use your brain, Sylvester. Why did I come to you in that dirty fish*boat?” That was a clever move, for the scorpion’s mind loved the curved route, aaa action of his backer depended greatly upon Sylvester’s opinion of Williams. The cap-. tain did not know it, but the scorpion, seeing profits for himself without much labor, had already decided to tell his man that he had known Williams for thirty years, knew him to be worth at least a hundred and fifty thousand pounds— there are many men of millions not known to Bradstreet—knew his word to be as good as a bond and knew all about his good old English family before him. Later, when the way looked very smooth, Williams was to realize this character- panne of the scorpion, and now his ucky words helped the selection of the brightest colors, For Sylvester’s mind loved the crooked lane, the while he be- .r +. = % bs > ti . “