“If I thought you couldn’t run your own business I wouldn’t want your help to run mine,” Crooks replied. “Mind you, I consider myself able to give you a few pointers. You’ve a lot to learn, but you’re one of the young fellows who will learn. Some can’t; others won’t. I’d hate to see Jack marry a man I didn’t think would make good. I’d tell him so mighty quick. No, I gave you my real reason.”
“It’s a good proposition for me, Mr. Crooks,” said Joe. “I’m for it, if we can arrange details. Were you thinking of forming a company?”
“No, I wasn’t,” said Crooks. “I don’t like companies—too much shenanigan about stock and directors and meetings. A company can’t do a blamed thing without seeing a lawyer first. I own one business which will be Jack’s and yours some day, and you own another. We just make a little ’greement to run ’em together and divide the profits; and we arrange who’s to do what work—and there you are. Any time things don’t run to suit us we split the blanket. If we tell Locke what we want he’ll put it in shape in half an hour.”
“I’ll do it,” Joe agreed; “but I feel that I’m getting the best of the bargain in your experience.”
“My experience is all right,” said Crooks, “but I can’t hustle like I used to—or else I won’t. You will, and I’ll be able to tell you how. That makes it an even break. And then you’ve got Wright. I’ve wanted him or some one like him for years.”
“I feel that I owe Wright a good deal,” said Joe. “He has really run the business end of the concern. I was thinking of giving him a share in it. Seems to me something like that is coming to him.”
“I’m glad to hear you say so. We’ll take him in with us and give him an interest.”
“I want it to come out of my share.”
“No. He’s going to work for me as much as for you. Wright is a part of your equipment and a big asset. Whatever interest he gets must come out of the whole business and not out of one end of it.”
They took their proposition in the rough to Locke, and that experienced adjuster of other men’s perplexities proceeded to hammer it into working shape, finally producing an agreement, clear, concise and satisfactory. Thus the lumber firm of Crooks & Kent was born.