“Dunno,” says Mark, “and don’t want to.”
But he was mistaken about that. Before long Mark Tidd did want to know who he was, and wanted to know it worse than he had ever wanted to know anything in his life.
And that’s how we saw the Man With the Black Gloves for the first time.
CHAPTER III
“The t-trouble with this business,” says Mark, when we were back in the office, “is that we haven’t m-much workin’ capital.”
“What’s workin’ capital?” Plunk wanted to know.
“It’s money you have to keep your b-business runnin’. Right now we have to buy ink and p-paper and things. We aren’t t-takin’ in enough money to do it, and to pay rent, and such like. All we’ve got is f-fifty dollars, and that’s got to do. Ma says so. She says dad can t-throw away so much money, but not another cent; and if we can’t make this p-paper pay on what we’ve got, why we can just up and b-bust.”
“Um!” says I. “I guess we better get a wiggle on us, then.”
“C-can’t get many subscribers before the f-first paper comes out, but we’ll print f-f-five hunderd of ’em, anyhow. Cost money, but we got to do it.”
“How’ll you get rid of ’em?” Tallow wanted to know.