human
Ed went nosin' around Hereford this mo'nin'. He got eight men--their names is inside the envelope--Creel one of 'em--to admit they'd bought some shares. Mighty glad they was to have 'em. Ed didn't tell 'em anything different, but he come scootin' home at noon an' I borrowed Hen's certificut, seein' he was asleep. An' here it is.
gpt
Mirandy, said Sandy,
human
I'll let Mormon tell you what we all think of you. You've sure dealt me an ace. Mormon, help Sam ride herd on the secretary. I'll be callin' you in after a bit. You'll stay, Mirandy?
gpt
I'll go visit with Kate Nicholson. I'm beginnin' to like her real well. Molly away?
human
Blake coming?
gpt
Not yet. When do we get another dividend from the Molly, Keith?
human
You're as bad as all the others, he said.
gpt
Sell a man stock, give him a dividend and he's like a girl eating candy. You had one just fourteen weeks ago.
human
I was askin' you about the _next_,
gpt
Needing some ready money?
human
How about the dividend?
gpt
Why, that depends upon the output. Keith's voice purred but his eyes had narrowed. He watched Sandy like a card player who begins to think his opponent superior to first impressions.
human
The output has been big. The Molly has been a bonanza, so far. I do not think it wise always to pay dividends according to the immediate production, however. It is better, as a rule, to average it, generally to develop the mine as a whole rather than work the first rich veins.
gpt
That why you boarded up the stopes?
human
Look here, Bourke, he blustered.
gpt
You've been listening to some fool talk from that cub, Westlake. I know my business. You've got some stock in the mine, twenty-five per cent. I've put money and brains into it and I've got forty-nine per cent. Molly....
human
If you _had_ fo'ty-nine per cent. I wouldn't be worryin' so much.
gpt
What the devil do you mean?
human
I took you fo' a betteh gambler than to git mad, said Sandy.
gpt
I'll jest ask you a question on behalf of myse'f an' partners' twenty-five per cent., an' Molly's twenty-six, me bein' her guardian. Plump an' plain, is the Molly pinched out?
human
Save me a trip over to Casey Town, mebbe,
gpt
I got mad just now, Bourke, because of the interference of a man I fired for lack of common sense, experience and recognition of his superiors. Westlake is a hot-head and I suppose he has some idea of trying to get even with me by belittling me in your eyes and running down my management. I think I have shown my interests allied with yours. Mrs. Keith and I.
human
She don't come into this. You didn't answer my question, Keith. How about it?
gpt
It's a damned falsehood.
human
Then why are you sellin' your stock?