Then they had drinks, and later in the day they called on Rafferty at his office in Ginnis Street.
They had come to the decision to take his offer. A soft island was well worth paying for. Cayzer, the owner of the great Clan line of steamers, made his fortune by knowing where to send his ships for cargo, and, though Harman knew nothing of the owner of the Clan line, he was keenly alive to the truth of this matter.
“So you’ve come to agree with me,” said Rafferty. “Well, you won’t be sorry. Now, how will you take it—fifty dollars down and a ten-per-cent royalty to me on the takin’s, or would you sooner make a clean deal and pay me a hundred and fifty down and no royalties? For between you and me there’s a lot of sea chances to be taken and the old Heart is not as young as she used to be.”
Blood and Harman took a walk outside to consult, and determined to make a “clean deal.”
“I don’t want to be payin’ no royalties,” said Harman; “let’s cut clear of the chap and pay him a hundred down; he’ll take it.”
He did, after an hour’s bargaining and wrangling and calling the saints to observe how he was being cheated.
Then, the hundred dollars haring been paid, he gave them the location of the island on the chart which Harman had brought.
To be almost precise, the island was situated in the great quadrilateral of empty sea southwest of Honolulu, bounded by the International Date Line to westward, latitude 10° north to southward, longitude 165° to eastward, and the Tropic of Cancer to northward.
Having paid a hundred dollars for the information, Blood and Harman left Rafferty’s office and that very afternoon began to purchase the trade for their new venture.