Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/42

 "Did you ever try persuading the rich man?"

"Lord bless you! yes, but the difficulty is to get the start. Nobody will listen unless you've put through a deal that's been successful. You see, everybody's singing the same song. You can't meet a man who won't agree to make you rich if you'll just grub-stake him with a few thousand dollars."

"Have you given up hope of finding your rich man?"

"No; I'm at it just now. That's why I scraped acquaintance with you."

"All right, Mr. Garner. You've got me persuaded, so here's your chance at last, with a man who doesn't care a rap whether he wins or loses."

"Well, sir, that's the kind of man I'd like to do business with. I should hate to lose money for anybody, just as I'd hate to lose it myself, if I had some. Now, what I wanted that paper of yours for was to see whether the stock of the Great South-Western Short Line had gone up or not. Instead of going up, it's dropped down. If I had money, I'd put every cent of it in that road."

"Do you mind telling me why?"

"Oh, you want to back out!"

"I never back out. I'll give you the money