Ned, too, was active in preparing his figures and estimates. He had been busy with the telegraph inquiring into the financial standing and responsibility of the oil men, and while these were not absolutely satisfactory, they were sufficiently good to warrant taking a reasonable chance, though they indicated the need of caution.
Late in the afternoon Tom and Ned came together for a preliminary conference.
“Well, how goes the battle, Ned?” asked Tom, as he settled into his office chair.
“I’ve got everything ready,” replied Ned, as he pointed to a mass of papers on his desk.
“Good!” was the reply. “As regards the time limit,” went on Tom, “I’ve consulted with Jackson and we figure that we can complete the job in six weeks. Of course, we could do it sooner, if we put the whole force on it, but we’ve got to take care of the contracts we have on hand.”
“As regards the price, we can do it at a fair profit for twenty-six thousand dollars,” said the financial man.
“Do you think they’re good for it?” asked Tom thoughtfully.
“I think we can take a chance,” answered Ned. “The references weren’t exactly what you could tall gilt-edged, but as regards Thompson and Bragden, they were fairly good. As to Hankinshaw——”
“The skunk!” muttered Tom.
“What’s that?” asked Ned, looking up.