"At a moment's warning?" repeated Blennerhassett, dubiously. "General Wilkinson told you so? Is he—a reliable officer?"
"He and I are most intimate friends. We consult on public and on private concerns. I have just returned from his headquarters in St. Louis, where we were considering a business enterprise—the purchase of a large tract on the Wachita river, between the Red and the Sabine."
"Do you purpose returning South to remain?"
"My intention is to buy those fertile lands, establish a colony, and develop the resources of the region, as a sure and easy means of making my own fortune, and the fortunes of my associates."
"You are confident that the prospect of increasing your capital is good?"
"I am absolutely certain. I speak positively, but not rashly."
Blennerhassett nodded slowly, three or four times, and Burr spoke on.
"That the investment will prove enormously profitable I have not the shadow of a shade of doubt. General Wilkinson knows the property, and so do I. There are more than a million acres to be had for fifty thousand dollars. The present value is ten times that amount."
"If the inquiry is not impertinent, sir, have you organized a joint stock company? Have you completed your plans?"
"Practically, everything is arranged. Negotiations are afoot. The necessary capital will be forthcoming. We take no risk. To you I will say, in confidence, that the number of shareholders will be severely limited. You know how desirable it is, in partnerships of this kind, to admit only men of unimpeachable honor."