Tom immediately replaced the napkin in his lap, and pulled up to the table again. Coffee, nuts and raisins! Oh, no, Tom Flannery couldn’t allow his grievance to deprive him of these luxuries!
“Now, Tom,” said Bob, “I jest want to show you that you’ve made a fool of yourself, and that we hain’t made no fool of you. Of course we couldn’t help laughin’ to see you actin’ so redickerlous, Tom, and all about a little piece of cheese, too. A feller would er thought, Tom, that you’d been dumped in a sewer, to see you carry on; but when you get one er them crazy notions in your head, why, there’s no doin’ anything with you, but to let you sail in and enjoy yourself.”
Bob then ate his choice bit of Brie with a keen relish, much to the surprise of Tom, and I may say Herbert as well, for the latter’s taste had not been educated up to the point where he could eat such food.
At length reconciliation was reached, and Tom was once more happy. When the coffee had been drunk, the three boys, while eating nuts and raisins, discussed the problem of money making.
“How about the Wall Street racket?” remarked Tom.
“You refer to speculating, I suppose?” replied Herbert.
“Yes. You see my capital ain’t earnin’ me nothin’.”
“Well, I have had very little time to think about that since we first spoke of it. In fact, I am not in favor of the idea.”
“What! not in favor of spekerlatin’?” said Bob, with astonishment.
“Nuther am I,” put in Tom, wisely; “I don’t think it’s safe.”