"Alger Jr, Horatio - Joe the Hotel Boy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Alger Horatio Jr)

"What, such elegantly engraved stocks as those?"

"Pooh! I can buy a bushel-basket full of worthless stocks for a
dollar," came from Pat Malone. "But that isn't here nor there.
I go into the deal if you give me my fair share of the earnings."

"I'll give you one-third, Pat, and that's a fair share, I think."

"Why not make it half?"

"Because I'll do the most of the work. It's no easy matter to
find a victim." And Gaff Caven laughed broadly. He had a good-
appearing face, but his eyes were small and not to be trusted.

"All right, I'll go in for a third then. But how soon is the
excitement to begin?"

"Oh, in a week or so. I've got the advertisements in the papers
already."

"Not in New York?"

"No, it's Philadelphia this time. Perhaps I'll land one of our
Quaker friends."

"Don't be so sure. The Quakers may be slow but they generally
know what they are doing."

More thunder interrupted the conversation at this point, and when
it was resumed the two men talked in such low tones that only an
occasional word could be caught by the two boys.

"They surely must be rascals," remarked Ned, in a whisper. "I'm
half of a mind to have them locked up."

"That's easier said than done," answered Joe. "Besides, we
haven't any positive proofs against them."

The wind was now rising, and it soon blew so furiously that the
two boys were forced to seek the shelter of the woodshed, since
they did not deem it wise to enter the lodge so long as the two
men were inside. They waited in the shed for fully half an hour,
when, as suddenly as it had begun, the storm let up and the sun
began to peep forth from between the scattering clouds.

"Now we can go home if we wish," said Joe. "But for my part, I'd
like to stay and see what those men do, and where they go to."

"Yes, let us stay by all means," answered the rich youth.