Before he stowed away for the night, a little resentment crept into his thoughts of Sir Archibald. He had never felt this way before.
“I got t’ stop this,” he thought.
Tom Tulk was then dreaming over a glass of rum; and his dreams were pleasant dreams––concerning Skipper George of the Black Eagle.
CHAPTER XXVI
In Which the Enterprise of Archie Armstrong Evolves Señor Fakerino, the Greatest Magician In Captivity. In Which, also, the Foolish are Importuned Not to be Fooled, Candy is Promised to Kids, Bill o’ Burnt Bay is Persuaded to Tussle With “The Lost Pirate,” and the “Spot Cash” Sets Sail
For three dismal, foggy days, Archie Armstrong was the busiest business man in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He was forever damp, splashed with mud, grimy-faced, wilted as to clothes and haggard as to manner. But make haste he must; there was not a day––not an hour––to spare: for it was now appallingly near August; and the first of September would delay for no man. When, with the advice of Sir Archibald and the help of every man-jack in the warehouses (even of the rat-eyed little Tommy Bull), the credit of Topsail, Armstrong, Grimm & Company had been exhausted to the last penny, Archie sighed in a thoroughly self-satisfied way, pulled out his new check-book and plunged into work of another sort.
“How’s that bank-account holding out?” Sir Archibald asked, that evening. 221
“I’m a little bit bent, dad,” Archie replied, “but not yet broke.”