“Why didn’t you mention this thing before, Wolf?” he asked.
“I didn’t think of it, sir. When Major Toppleton made his next move, as he called it, I went to work on the problem, to see what could be done. I didn’t like the idea of running from Centreport with only half a freight. I want to make the boat pay.”
“She will pay handsomely under this arrangement. Do you think we need another boat, now?”
“Yes, sir; I do. This boat will be going from half-past six in the morning till half-past seven at night; and the hands will be on duty from five in the morning till nine at night. The boats will all need repairs, and there will be no time to make them.”
“You can have two sets of hands, if you like.”
“But we can make only one trip a day from Hitaca to Ucayga.”
“Well, that is really enough, for the railroad line has very few passengers up in the morning, or down in the afternoon. We shall take the lion’s share of them. This boat-builder has raised his price so much that I have not yet made a contract with him.”
“We can try our plan for a while, if you approve it, sir,” I replied.
“Certainly I approve it.”
Waddie produced the handbills he had procured at Centreport, and a person was employed to distribute them all over Hitaca. Colonel Wimpleton inserted advertisements in the papers, paying liberally for “editorial puffs” of the new line. Everything promised an entire success for the enterprise.