“Catty ought to take the figures out,” says Jack. “He landed the job.”
Mr. Atkins looked at Catty and heaved a big breath.
“He done so,” says he, and his eyes sort of twinkled. “Catty’s a terror. He’s a-ruinin’ my life. Fust I know he’ll make a rich man out of me, and I’ll have to buy me one of them silk hats like he was talking about, and nobody knows but what I’ll have to git me a cane to wear Sundays.”
“Catty,” says Jack, “is the best man in this firm.”
Well, we walked out to the farm and showed those men the figures, and Catty had listened so he was able to explain anything they didn’t understand. The upshot of it was that the boss signed the contract Jack had written, and Atkins & Phillips had landed the job of doing all the painting for the Greenfields Holstein Farms for a year. It was a whaling big contract, too. Catty figured they would make a fair living out of it, even if they didn’t get another stroke of work to do.
“We’re growin’,” says he. “Now we got to save out money so as to git a lot ahead to branch out with. What we need most right now is money.”
“It’s what most folks needs,” says I. “I need a little myself. ’Most always do.”
“Now,” says Catty, “we got to give a little time to Jim Bockers. We got all the work we need this minute, so I kind of figger to git some for Jim. The more he gits the more money he loses. I don’t calc’late runnin’ us out of town ’s goin’ to be very profitable for some folks.” We walked up the street to take a look at the cellar of Mr. Witherspoon’s house, and just in front of the bank we saw Mr. Arthur Peabody Kinderhook talking to Captain Winton. I heard Captain Winton say:
“Don’t you think it would be advisable, Mr. Kinderhook, to interest a certain amount of local capital in your enterprises? I’m sure a number of our citizens would be willing to invest.”
“No.... No....” says Mr. Kinderhook. “I’m in business to make money for myself. The profits from this manufacturing operation will be handsome. I have the money to swing it without outside help. Why should I let in anybody else?”