New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Swindlers and swindling -- Fiction
"You can't get spielers," he declared. "I've tried it. Once I made up
a lot of the Sciatacata and sent out three men; picked the best I
could find that had made good with street-corner pitches in other
lines, and their sales weren't half what mine would be; moreover, they
got drunk on the job, didn't pay for their goods, and were a nuisance
any way you took 'em."
Wallingford laughed.
"I didn't mean that we should manufacture the priceless remedy for
street fakers to handle," he explained. "I propose to start a big
factory to supply drug-stores through the jobbing trade, to spend a
hundred thousand dollars in advertising right off the bat, give you
stock in the company for the use of your formula, and a big salary to
superintend the manufacture. That will do away with your exposure to
the night air, stop the increase of your sciatica, and make you more
money. Why, Doc, just to begin with we'll give you ten thousand
dollars' worth of stock."
It took Doctor Quagg some time to recover from the shock of that much
money.
"I've heard of such things," said he gratefully, "but I never supposed
it could happen to me."
"You don't need to put up a cent," went on Wallingford. "And I don't
need to put up a cent. We'll use other people's money."
"Where are you going to get your share?" asked the doctor
suspiciously. "Are you going to have a salary, too?"
"No," said Wallingford. "We'll pay you thirty-five dollars to start
with as superintendent of the manufacturing department, but I won't
ask for a salary; I'll take a royalty of one cent a bottle as manager
of the company. I'll take five thousand dollars' worth of stock for my
services in promotion, and then for selling the stock I'll take
twenty-five per cent. of the par value for all I place, but will take
it out in stock at the market rate. We'll organize for half a million
and begin selling stock at fifty cents on the dollar, and I'll
guarantee to raise for us one hundred and twenty-five thousand net
cash--twenty-five thousand for manufacturing and one hundred thousand
for advertising."
The doctor drew a long breath.
"If you can do that you're a wonder," he declared; "but it don't seem
to me you're taking enough for yourself. You're giving me ten
thousand dollars and you're only taking five; you're giving me
thirty-five dollars a week and you're only taking a cent a bottle. It
seems to me the job of organizing and building up such a company is
worth as much as the Sciatacata."
"Don't you worry about me," protested J. Rufus modestly. "I'll get
along all right. I'm satisfied. We'll organize the company to-day."
"You can't get all that money together in a day!" exclaimed the doctor
in amazement.
"Oh, no; I don't expect to try it. I'll put up all the money
necessary. We want five directors, and we have three of them now, you
and my wife and I. Do you know anybody around the hotel that would
serve?"
The doctor snorted contemptuously.
"Nobody that's got any money or responsibility," he asserted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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