"Шервуд Андерсен. Белый бедняк (engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

getting money. Again he was afraid. "There's some one in the background,"
he thought. "Now I must make a proposal he can't refuse. I mustn't leave
until I've made a deal with him."

Fairly carried away by his anxiety, Steve proposed to provide money out of
his own pocket to make the model of the machine. "We'll rent the old pickle
factory across the track," he said, opening the door and pointing with a
trembling finger. "I can get it cheap. I'll have windows and a floor put
in. Then I'll get you a man to whittle out a model of the machine. Allie
Mulberry can do it. I'll get him for you. He can whittle anything if you
only show him what you want. He's half crazy and won't get on to our
secret. When the model is made, leave it to me, you just leave it to me."

Rubbing his hands together Steve walked boldly to The telegrapher's desk
and picking up a sheet of paper began to write out a contract. It provided
that Hugh Was to get a royalty of ten per cent. of the selling price on the
machine he had invented and that was to be manufactured by a company to
be organized by Steven Hunter. The contract also stated that a promoting
company was to be organized at once and money provided for the experimental
work Hugh had yet to do. The Missourian was to begin getting a salary at
once. He was to risk nothing, as Steve elaborately explained. When he was
ready for them mechanics were to be employed and their salaries paid. When
the contract had been written and read aloud, a copy was made and Hugh, who
was again embarrassed beyond words, signed his name.

With a flourish of his hand Steve laid a little pile of money on the desk.
"That's for a starter," he said and turned to frown at George Pike who at
that moment came to the door. The freight agent went quickly away and the
two men were left alone together. Steve shook hands with his new partner.
He went out and then came in again. "You understand," he said mysteriously.
"The fifty dollars is your first month's salary. I was ready for you. I
brought it along. You just leave everything to me, just you leave it to
me." Again he went out and Hugh was left alone. He saw the young man go
across the tracks to the old factory and walk up and down before it. When a
farmer came along and shouted at him, he did not reply, but stepping back
into the road swept the deserted old building with his eyes as a general
might have looked over a battlefield. Then he went briskly down the road
toward town and the farmer turned on his wagon seat to stare after him.

Hugh McVey also stared. When Steve had gone away, he walked to the end
of the station platform and looked along the road toward town. It seemed
to him wonderful that he had at last held conversation with a citizen
of Bidwell. A little of the import of the contract he had signed came to
him, and he went into the station and got his copy of it and put it in his
pocket. Then he came out again. When he read it over and realized anew that
he was to be paid a living wage and have time and help to work out the
problem that had now become vastly important to his happiness, it seemed
to him that he had been in the presence of a kind of god. He remembered
the words of Sarah Shepard concerning the bright alert citizens of eastern
towns and realized that he had been in the presence of such a being, that