“You just bet I was. Now, the horse is fed and ready, I’m fed and ready, and we’re losing valuable time waiting for that fifty dollars.”
“Suppose you meet another newspaper man who wants to get his dispatch through to another paper, what will you do?”
“Charge him the same as I do you. If I meet two other newspaper men, that will be one hundred and fifty dollars; but if you want to make sure that I won’t meet any more newspaper men, let us call it one hundred dollars, and I’ll take the risk of the odd fifty for the ready cash; then if I meet a dozen newspaper men, I’ll tell them I’m a telegraph boy on a vacation.”
“Quite so. I think you will be able to take care of yourself in a cold and callous world. Now, look here, young man; I’ll trust you if you’ll trust me. I’m not a traveling mint, you know. Besides, I pay by results. If you don’t get this dispatch through, you don’t get anything. I’ll give you an order for a hundred dollars, and as soon as I get to Buffalo I’ll pay you the cash. I’ll have to draw on the Argus when I get to Buffalo; if my article has appeared, you get your cash; if it hasn’t, you’re out. See?”
“Yes, I see. It won’t do, Mr. Yates.”
“Why won’t it do?”
“Because I say it won’t. This is a cash transaction. Money down, or you don’t get the goods. I’ll get it through all right, but if I just miss, I’m not going to lose the money.”
“Very well, I’ll take it to the Canadian telegraph office.”
“All right, Mr. Yates. I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were some good. You aint got no sense, but I wish you luck. When I was at your tent, there was a man with a hammer taking a lot of men out of the woods. When one of them sees my uniform, he sings out he’d give me twenty-five dollars to take his stuff. I said I’d see him later, and I will. Good-by, Mr. Yates.”
“Hold on, there! You’re a young villain. You’ll end in state’s prison yet, but here’s your money. Now, you ride like a house a-fire.”