“Well, young man!” Cappy greeted him genially. “How about you?”
“Never mind me. How about the Tillicum?”
“Laid up in Oakland Inner Harbor waiting for better times.”
“I think I can give her some business. Would you charter her to the Pacific Shipping Company?”
“Well,” Cappy replied, “I might be induced to take a chance in these hard times. How much money have you in bank to-day?”
“In a pinch I could lay my hands on thirty thousand, cash.”
“Well,” said Cappy thoughtfully, “that little roll, plus an established credit and a reputation for business experience, might carry you far with some people—but not with me. You're not a safe bet—yet; but we can make it safe.”
“How?”
“You can pay the charter money in advance,” Cappy answered smilingly.
“I have decided not to do any more gambling, Mr. Ricks. Hereafter, as near as such a thing may be humanly possible, I'm going to play a sure thing. Therefore, all things being equal, if I can guarantee you your price for the steamer, on a year's charter, you do not care what I do with the vessel, provided that I do not injure her?”