“That is true,” said Jimmy; and Ruth smiled at her father.
“There is no reason why you should object, and you needn’t pretend to be vexed!” she pouted.
“I think Mr. Farquhar and I must have a talk,” Osborne answered quietly.
He made Jimmy sit down when Ruth had left them.
“Now,” he began, “I’ll confess to some surprise, and though, from what I’ve seen and heard of you, I can find no fault of a personal nature, there are some drawbacks.”
“Nobody realizes that better than myself,” Jimmy answered ruefully. “In fact, I can honestly say that they seemed serious enough to prevent my hopes from ever being realized until half an hour ago. The only excuse I can make is that I love your daughter.”
“It’s a good one, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t quite cover all the ground. May I ask about your plans for the future?”
“I’m afraid they’re not very ambitious, but they may lead to something. My partners and I intend to start a small towing and transport business with the salvage money.”
Osborne asked for an outline of the scheme, and listened with interest while Jimmy supplied it. The venture had obviously been well thought out, and he believed it would succeed. Farquhar and his friends had carried out their salvage operations in spite of Clay’s opposition, which spoke well for their resourcefulness and determination. Knowing something of his late partner’s methods, he could imagine the difficulties they had had to meet.
“I think you have chosen a suitable time, because it looks as if we were about to see a big extension of the coasting trade,” he said. “There is, however, the disadvantage that you’ll have to start in a small way. Now it’s possible that I might find you some more capital.”