"Ten dollars would come in handy all the same, I reckon."
"Well, yes; you see, although I've been on this road for fifty years I didn't save much. My daughter didn't marry well, and I've had two or three families to take care of—yes, ten dollars will go a long way with me."
"All right; I've got ten dollars' worth of information out of you already."
Jack handed the old man a ten-dollar bill.
"What!" ejaculated Douglas, his eyes dilating, "do you mean that you will pay me ten dollars for just the little I've said to you?"
"Certainly I will; our papers pay big prices for interesting stories."
"Well, I can tell you some interesting stories—yes, I can do that."
"I'd like to get the article as soon as I can, Mr. Douglas, and I'd be willing to pay you for loss of time if you can get 'laid off' for a day."
"Oh, I can do that any time—yes, I've been on the road so long they favor me."
"Well, I'll tell you, I will be at your house to-morrow morning at ten o'clock. You will have your memoranda all ready, and we will go over it. You see, I want to write about the road forty or fifty years ago."