Galusha blushed and stammered. “Why--why--” he began; “I--ah--you
see--it is--ah--something of mine.”
“Something you wish me to take care of?” asked Barbour, still looking at
the envelope.
His caller grasped at the straw.
“Yes--yes, that is it,” he said, eagerly. “Dear me, yes. If you will be
so kind.”
“Yes, indeed, Mr. Bangs. No trouble at all. I'll put it--”
But the little man stopped the sentence in the middle.
“If--if you please,” he protested. “Ah--please don't. I don't wish to
know where you put it. Really, I don't, not in the least. I very much
prefer not to know where it is.... Ah--good-day, Mr. Barbour. Thank you
very much.”
The general opinion in the office of Cabot, Bancroft and Cabot
concerning the senior partner's queer cousin was strengthened by this
visit. The surmise that Galusha Bangs was a “nut” became a conviction.
But, for the “nut” himself, life during the coming weeks and months
became a much less worrisome struggle. Returning to East Wellmouth,
for the second time laden with legal tender, he delivered his burden to
Captain Jethro, who, in return, promised faithfully never to reveal a
word concerning the sale of his Development stock or drop a hint which
might help to locate its purchasers.
“Course I won't say nothin',” vowed the captain. “I realize that
business men don't want their business talked about. And if them Cabot,
Bancroft and Cabot folks are tryin' to buy in the stock, whether it's
for themselves or somebody else, they'll want it kept dark. No, I ain't
told a soul on this earth and I WON'T tell one. That is satisfactory,
ain't it?”
The shadow of a smile passed across Galusha's face. “Quite, quite,” he
replied. “Nothing could be more so unless--”
“Well, unless what?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Thank you--ah--thank you very much.”
It had occurred to him that, considering the light keeper's
peculiarities, the promise not to tell a soul on earth might be
stretched to include those elsewhere; but he kept the thought to
himself. Captain Jethro did not press his question. The shrewd
old captain was so thoroughly delighted at having sold, and at the
prophesied profit, his troublesome holdings in the Wellmouth Development
Company, that his mood was neither combative nor inquisitive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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