“It depends on what Robert left behind,” said Percy.
“Oh, we wouldn’t take over any of his stuff. No, the first thing would be to reckon up how much we should want to start with, and either club together or get some one to advance it. How many tarts do you suppose are sold a day?”
“Hundreds,” said Ashby.
“Well, according to Robert, about eighty. But say one hundred. That at a penny each would be about 8 shillings for tarts. Then the ginger-beer. Would twenty bottles do? That would be 3 shillings 4 pence, supposing they cost 2 pence each. That’s 11 shillings 4 pence. What next? Apples? Suppose we put them down at 2 shillings 6 pence—13 shillings 10 pence. Sweets? Well, say 2 shillings 6 pence more—16 shillings 4 pence. Nuts 1 shilling—17 shillings 4 pence. It mounts up, you see. We ought at least to have 25 or 30 shillings to start with. Well, I happen to know somebody who would lend that amount to the shareholders for a little time if we should want it. Now suppose we’ve got our money. We ought to send to some of the best shops and market people in the town to see what we could get our things for. As it happens, Mrs Stratton when she was in Penchurch this morning did inquire, and this is her report. The tarts that we should sell for a penny we could get for three farthings each, so that on a hundred tarts we should make a profit of 2 shillings 1 penny. And the confectioner would send his cart up every day with fresh tarts of different kinds of jam, and take back yesterday’s stale ones at half-price. That would be a great improvement, wouldn’t it?”
“Rather,” said everybody.
“Then the ginger-beer. Would you believe it, if we undertake to take not less than twelve bottles a day daring the half we can get them for a penny each, and might sell them for three-halfpence. That would make a great increase in the demand, I fancy, and every bottle we can sell, we make a dear halfpenny profit. The same with the sweets. You can get most sorts for 9 or 10 pence a pound, and if we sell at a penny an ounce, you see we get 7 or 8 pence profit. I should vote for only getting the best kind of sweets, and making rather less profit than that. At any rate, you see, if we are careful, we ought pretty soon to be able to pay back what we owe, and after providing for the expense of a person to mind the shop and do the selling, put by a little week by week, which will go to the School clubs or anything else the fellows decide. What do you think of the plan?”
They all thought it would be magnificent.
“I see no reason why you youngsters should not manage it splendidly by yourselves at soon as you get once started. You’ll have to draw up strict rules, of course, for managing the shop, and make up the accounts; and look out sharp that you aren’t selling anything at a loss. Remember, the cheaper you can sell (provided you get a fair profit), the more customers you’ll have. And the better your stuff is, the more it will be liked. Mrs Stratton says she will act as banker, and take care of the money at the end of each day and pay out what you want for stores. Don’t say anything about it out of doors at present; talk it over among yourselves daring the week, and if you think it will work, tell me, and we’ll have a regular business meeting to settle preliminaries. Now suppose we have a game of crambo?”
When the party broke up, Moderns and Classics strolled affectionately across the Green arm in arm, deep in confabulation as to the projected shop.
When they reached the door of Wakefield’s, Wally said, “By the way, have any of you chaps lost a football? There’s one kicking about in our room. Hang outside and I’ll chuck it to you out of the window.”