“This man will be worth double his money anywhere you place him.”
“I am not saying anything against your man except that we don’t want him. The Burdock’s practically bankrupt—you know that.”
“Still, John Steele, the young fellow I’m speaking of, won’t want much money, and he understands railroading down to the ground.”
“If he is a valuable man, why are you so anxious to get rid of him?” asked the wily president, with a smile.
“I’m not. I’d rather part with all the rest of my staff than with Steele; but Mr. Blair has taken a dislike to him, and——”
“Enough said,” broke in the president of the Burdock. “That dislike, coupled with your own preference, makes the best recommendation any man could ask. How much are you paying Steele?”
“Ten dollars a week.”
The old man mused for a few moments, then chuckled aloud in apparent enjoyment.
“I’ll give him fifteen,” he said. “Will that satisfy him?”
“It will more than satisfy him.”