“How much are you worth?” he inquired bluntly.
“About twenty thousand dollars,” replied Newmark.
“Well, if I raise very much more than twenty thousand cents, I'm lucky just now.”
“How much capital would we have to have?” asked Newmark.
Orde thought for several minutes, twisting the petal of an old apple-blossom between his strong, blunt fingers.
“Somewhere near seventy-five thousand dollars,” he estimated at last.
“That's easy,” cried Newmark. “We'll make a stock company—say a hundred thousand shares. We'll keep just enough between us to control the company—say fifty-one thousand. I'll put in my pile, and you can pay for yours out of the earnings of the company.”
“That doesn't sound fair,” objected Orde.
“You pay interest,” explained Newmark. “Then we'll sell the rest of the stock to raise the rest of the money.”
“If we can,” interjected Orde.