“Well, a new one would cost you about twelve hundred, I suppose. That would be rather a light one, too; say a one-ton truck. Big enough for you, though. You see, you haven’t any grades to consider, except now and then you might have to run up The Hill with a trunk. That’s a big thing in your favor. If you had a lot of steep grades between the station and the town you’d have to have a more powerful truck. You might be able to pick up a second-hand one in good condition. Maybe you could get one for――well, say, six or seven hundred. I don’t know much about trucks. They weren’t using so many of them when I was in the business.” “Well, I guess we can’t have one yet,” said Tom. “Maybe next Spring――――” “If we’re going to have one at all we ought to get it soon,” said Willard decisively. “First thing we know someone else will step in and grab the business. Connors himself might do it. It’s a wonder now he doesn’t put in a motor bus to the station.” “Stablemen are the last folks on earth to monkey with motors,” said Jimmy. “But that isn’t saying some other fellow might not start in. I guess there won’t be much but motor trucks in a few years. Look what they can do compared with horses!” “We ought to have one and have it quick,” said Willard. “But how the dickens can we?” Tom demanded. “Gee, we haven’t paid our debts yet!” “We’ll be pretty nearly square with everyone by the middle of this month,” returned Willard. “I’ll wait for the rest of my money. If we could get a couple of hundred dollars ahead I’d be in favor of paying it down on a motor truck and giving a note for the balance. I suppose we could do that, couldn’t we, Jimmy?” “Sure you could. Wait a minute, fellows. I want to think.” Jimmy turned around and looked for a while out the window. A switch engine backed leisurely along a spur and coupled up to a row of boxcars and then trundled them off out of sight. At last Jimmy faced the boys again. “How do you fellows feel about taking in a partner?” he asked quietly. [Illustration: “‘How do you fellows feel about taking in a partner?’ he asked quietly”] After a moment Willard asked: “Who would he be?”