“Yours respectfully,
“Dean & Downie,
“Real Estate Agents.”
“Why shouldn’t I go to Tacoma?” thought Chester. “I can probably sell the lots to better advantage than any agents, and should be entirely unable to fix upon a suitable price unless I am on the ground. In case I go on, I can take Edward with me, and trust to him to repay the money advanced at some future time.”
The more Chester thought of this plan the more favorable it struck him.
He went the next day to the office of The Phœnix, and after delivering his sketches, said: “I should like leave of absence for two months. Can you spare me?”
“Does your health require it, Mr. Rand?” asked the editor.
“No,” answered Chester, “but I own a little property in Tacoma, and there are parties out there who wish to buy. It is important that I should go out there to attend to the matter.”
The editor arched his brows in astonishment.
“What!” he said. “An artist, and own real estate? This is truly surprising.”
“I didn’t earn it by my art,” replied Chester, smiling. “It was a bequest.”