“Well,” said Harman, “that’s news, and what’s the price, may I ask?”
“Five thousand, and five thousand for the trade, ten thousand dollars, the whole sum to be paid on Friday next.”
“Have you a bit of writin’?” asked Harman, who possessed the French peasant’s instincts for stamped paper.
“I’ve got their cheque,” said Davis, “post dated for next Friday, but I’m not bothering about the money, for the ship and cargo, it doesn’t matter a hill of beans to me whether they pay ten thousand dollars or five. I’ve struck a bigger thing than that. What would you say to half a million dollars?”
“I don’t know,” replied the ingenuous Harman. “I only know chaps generally begin to make asses of themselves when they talk about millions of dollars. It’s my opinion no man ever came out of the big end of the horn with the million dollars in his hand he’d gone in to fetch at the little. Most of the million-dollar men I’ve heard of have started as newsies with their toes stickin’ through their boots—but go on, what was you sayin’?”
“I’m saying I’ve a big thing in sight,” replied the exasperated Davis, “and I’d be a lot surer of it if I felt I hadn’t such a fool partner. It’s this, I’m right into the cockles of the heart of that family, and I’ve got the news through my left ear that there’s trouble in Santiago, that Diaz is going to skip and that a million dollars in gold bars are coming down to the coast. Diaz is taking his movables with him, and he’s gutted the Treasury unknown to the chaps that are moving to shoot him out. He’s about sick of the presidency and wants to get away and lead a quiet life.”
“I see,” said Harman. “That’s plain enough, but where do we stand?”
“Well,” said Davis, “there’s a million dollars’ worth of gold bars moving down to the coast here and there’s us just come in. Don’t it look like Providence? Don’t it look like as if there’s going to be a conjunction?”
“It do,” said Mr. Harman meditatively, “but I’m dashed if I see how we’re to conjunct on the evidence you’ve handed in—but you’ve got more up your sleeve—pull it out.”
“It’s not much,” said Davis, “only the girl. She’s going to keep us wise. I told her I might be able to do a deal with Diaz if I knew where and when he was shipping off the boodle, and she’s going to let me know. The Pereiras are all in the business same as furniture-removing chaps, they’re doing the move for Diaz, and he’s using one of their ships. D’you see? See where we come in, nothing to do but watch and wait with the girl for our eyes and ears—then pounce—How? I don’t know, but we’ll do it.”