"We didn't have any lawn or lawn-mower," declared the little man mildly. "At the age of seven Mr. Jones used to sit for hours by the railroad track wondering what made the locomotive's wheels go round. At ten he ruined a bicycle, a present from an uncle, by taking it to pieces trying to discover why it would keep upright when moving but would fall down when stationary." The boys grinned, and the little man squirmed uneasily in his seat. "Gentlemen, you have no doubt discovered by now what Mr. Jones' ruling passion was, and is, namely, an almost overwhelming love of machinery. I have not sketched out his entire life, but I have not the slightest doubt that this passion displayed so early in life grew with the passing years until it became a mania. I believe that, when Mr. Jones came to own an automobile, the happiest hours of his life were those spent under the machine with a monkey-wrench in his hand and his clothes covered with grease." "Can't you come to the point?" demanded the little man irritably. "In just a minute, Jones," said the lawyer gently. "Now, gentlemen, I have related all this to show you how natural it was when Mr. Jones first laid eyes on your magnificent machine he became possessed of the desire to own it. His whole heart and every fiber of his being yearned to possess that marvel of cog-wheels, levers, and power. The desire grew so upon him that he could not sleep at nights, and at last he came to me and begged me to see if you would not sell out to him. I warned him that you loved your work, and that nothing but a very high price would tempt you to give it up, but that has not diminished his ardor, and so I brought him out here to see what could be done in the matter." The lads' hearts beat high with hope. Here was a way out of their difficulties they had never dreamed of. They managed to keep their delight out of their faces, however, for they realized that the lawyer was playing a deep game, which they did not understand. "I am afraid that you will set an unreasonable price on your outfit," said Mr. Bruce, "so I suggest if you will entertain a proposition to sell, that you let me conduct the negotiations. I would hate to have Mr. Jones pay more for the machine than it is worth to him." The little man winced visibly and shifted uneasily in his chair. "We would sell, if we could get a proper price," Charley said slowly. "We are willing to leave the matter in your hands." "Good," said the lawyer. "Now we can get down to business. Let's see; the machine cost $12,000 laid down at Jupiter, I believe." "I'll buy it for that," said the little man promptly, while our chums held their breath. "Not so fast," said the lawyer. "I'm not setting a price yet. I'm just figuring up things. Twelve thousand dollars was the price at Jupiter, but it cost a lot more to set it up and get it on the ground to work; then, there's the camp outfit, mules, truck, etc. The whole thing should be worth at least $18,000."