NED’S BUSINESS VENTURE
Meanwhile Ned Wilding was speeding on the fast train toward New York. The first part of the journey was no novelty to him, as he had been over that part of the line before. Soon, however, he noticed a change in the scenery and was kept busy watching the landscape as it seemed to fly past the windows.
“I wonder if I’ll have time to attend to that little matter of business before I go to Uncle Kenfield’s house,” said Ned to himself as he leaned back in his seat and pulled a bundle of papers from his pocket. “Let’s see what the address is.”
Ned began to turn over the pages of a booklet which he selected from among his bundle of documents.
“Skem & Skim, 111 Broadway,” he read. “I’ll just drop down there before I go to uncle’s house and buy my stock. Just think of me being a stockholder in the Mt. Olive Oil Well Corporation, Limited. Capital ten million dollars, surplus and undivided profits five millions. It must be a great concern.”
Ned gave himself up to pleasant thoughts and looked out of the window. Perhaps he saw himself a millionaire riding in his private car. For Ned was going to do some business on his own account—the first he had ever done.
When he learned that he was to visit his aunt and uncle in New York he decided to put into operation a plan he had long had in mind; ever since, in fact, he got the thousand dollars damages which were paid to him and his chums by Mr. Ricka, as told in the first volume of this “Darewell Chums Series.”
Mr. Wilding, after much solicitation on Ned’s part, had allowed his son to take one hundred dollars of the money to invest in any way he saw fit, subject to certain restrictions.
“I’ll not let you buy gold bricks with it, of course,” Mr. Wilding had said, “and I advise you not to invest it in alleged counterfeit money or ‘green goods.’ But anything else in reason you may do. It’s your first real business venture, and it will be good for you to learn by experience. I had to when I was a boy.”
“How about buying oil stock?” Ned had asked. “I have been reading that up lately.”