“One thousand dollars.”
“Why, frankly, Mr. Lake,” said the colonel still pleasantly, “we men of some experience and standing in the business world don’t like to have half-baked financiers interfering with our plans, and we aim to discourage them as effectually as possible whenever possible.” Then, with a sudden change of tone: “We won’t give you a damn cent for your option. You were too greedy.”
“Of course, you men of money and high finance are not greedy at all,” retorted Lake sarcastically.
Lake was too depressed to see it at the moment, but later it began to dawn on him that the colonel, usually astute, had made a grievous mistake. In his anxiety to impress upon the young man the futility of his avaricious schemes, in the face of such wise and resourceful opposition, he had mentioned the fact that the minority stock had been brought within their reach. Had they already bought it, or had they only secured options on it? If already purchased, the purchase price would prove a dead loss, unless they were able to get enough more to secure control. To parallel the road would be to kill a company in which they were financially interested, in addition to incurring the considerable expense necessary for a new connecting link.
Lake went to Bington that afternoon, and returned the following morning. The game was his, if he could raise the money; they had bought most of the minority stock outright, being unable to get options on it. He was sure of victory now, if he could raise the money. He no longer wished to turn the deal over to any one else on any terms: he wished to carry it to the conclusion himself. But the money, the money!
He tried Belden again, but Belden still considered the security utterly inadequate for a loan of twenty thousand dollars. In truth, although Belden considered the outlook a little more promising now, he doubted the young man’s ability to handle such a deal, and it would take very little to upset all calculations. The company’s investment was not sufficient to prevent the abandonment of the road in some very possible circumstances, although it was ample evidence of a present plan to use it. Murray took the same view of the situation.
“It begins to look like a good speculation,” said Murray, “but I haven’t the money to invest in it, and I never was much of a speculator, anyway. I have discovered that, as a general thing, when the possible profit begins to climb very much over the legal rate of interest, the probability of loss increases with it. However, if you want to take the risk, that’s your affair, provided you have the money.”
“But I haven’t,” complained Lake; “that’s the trouble.”
“Too bad you’re not carrying enough insurance to be of some use,” remarked Murray.
“What good would that do?” asked Lake.