“Uncle Tom, you promised to tell us the particulars of what was taking you to the West,” remarked Fred, who was curious to know the details.
“It’s rather a long story, Fred,” answered his uncle. “But I can give you a few of the main facts if you’d like to hear them.”
All were more than anxious, and as the train sped onward across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania they all crowded into one section around Tom Rover to hear what he might have to tell them.
“I made my first investment in the Rolling Thunder mine about two years ago,” began the father of the twins. “It was recommended to me by an old gold miner we met out West years ago, a very reliable fellow. I put twenty-five thousand dollars in the venture, and then followed it with another twenty-five thousand dollars. Six months ago I invested a third twenty-five thousand dollars, making a total of seventy-five thousand dollars.”
“Gee, that’s quite a sum of money!” murmured Andy.
“Yes, it is. And that’s why I am so anxious to get out and see just what is going on,” said his father. “When I made my first investment the mine was doing very well, and it continued to do well after I made the second investment. Then came something of a break, and the management of the mine changed hands. I was told that an assessment was in order, and as it looked all right to me I put up the third twenty-five thousand as I just remarked. Now there seems to be another break and something or other has gone wrong, although just what it is I cannot imagine.”
“How did you find out that matters were going wrong? Did they stop paying dividends?” questioned Jack.
“No, they’ve not stopped paying dividends. But I am of the opinion that the dividends are being paid out of the surplus and not out of earnings, as I have a right to expect. There is an old miner out there, a fellow named Lew Billings, a man I know well. Billings has sent me three messages urging me to come on and make an investigation. In his last message he said he didn’t think it would do any good to send an agent or a lawyer—that I had better come myself, that there were some things he wanted to explain to me personally.”
“That looks as though there might be some crooked work there, doesn’t it?” questioned Jack.