And he didn’t. What he did do was go up to his room and count his money. Including the fifty cents he had promised to the trophy fund, he possessed exactly ninety-four cents. Luckily for his purpose, it was mostly in dimes and nickels. He put the money in his pocket and hurried downstairs again. Sam Perkins was easily persuaded to give up his box of Tinkham’s Throat-Ease for five cents, but George Waters held out for ten and the deal fell through for the time. Bert wanted to sell, but explained that he hadn’t paid for his box yet and thought he oughtn’t to. Small’s box was short five tablets and he was glad to take a nickel for what remained. By supper time Lanny was the possessor of seven boxes of Throat-Ease for which he had expended the trifling sum of forty cents. (Fearing a rise in the market, he had paid George Waters the price demanded.) After supper he tried to secure more, but the rumor had gone around that Lanny was buying Tinkham’s and the price ascended to ten cents and finally to fifteen. He took over Sewall Crandall’s holdings at ten, and stopped. By that time the market was pretty nearly exhausted and Lanny’s only regret was that he had so foolishly thrown away his own box in a fit of anger. He still had forty-four cents in capital left and he hoped to be able to acquire a few more boxes from day pupils in the morning before it became known that Kid was willing to buy back at the original price. Just to be sure that he wasn’t wasting his money, Lanny popped his head in Kid’s door during the evening. Kid was making an effort to study his Latin. It was something of a come-down from wafting over the sea on the deck of a merchantman to grinding over Latin in bed, and Kid was not happy. He scowled at Lanny’s face in the doorway and told him to “beat it.”
“They say you’re going to do the right thing, Kid,” he observed questioningly, disregarding Kid’s hostility and smiling brightly upon him.
“What right thing?” growled Kid.
“Why, buy back those tablets you sold us.”
“Well, what if I am? That doesn’t concern you, does it? You threw yours away.”
“I know I did. But maybe I found ’em again, Kid.”
“Maybe that’s a whopper! I found them myself and sold them to ‘Toots’ Morgan.”
“You hadn’t any business to; they were mine!”
“You threw them away, didn’t you? And I found them, didn’t I? But if you want a box, Lanny, I’ll sell you one to-morrow for fifteen cents. The price has gone down.” And Kid smiled engagingly.
Lanny returned the smile. “You bet it has!” he agreed. “Good night, Kid.”