New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Swindlers and swindling -- Fiction
"They don't need to have any money, and we don't want them to have any
responsibility," protested Wallingford. "Anybody of voting age will do
for us just now."
"Well," said the doctor reflectively, "the night clerk's a pretty good
fellow, and the head dining-room girl here has always been mighty
nice to me. She's some relation to the proprietor and she's been here
for five years."
"Good," said Wallingford. "I'll telephone out for a lawyer."
There was no telephone in the room, but down-stairs Wallingford found
a pay 'phone and selected a lawyer at random from the telephone
directory. Within two hours Wallingford and his wife, Doctor Quagg,
Albert Blesser and Carrie Schwam had gravely applied for a charter of
incorporation under the laws of the state, for The Doctor Quagg
Peerless Sciatacata Company, with a capital stock of one thousand
dollars, fully paid in. As he signed his name the doctor laughed like
a school-boy.
"Now," said he, "I'm going to get my hair cut."
Wallingford stopped him in positive fright.
"Don't you dare do it!" he protested.
"Is that hair necessary to the business?" asked the doctor,
crestfallen.
"Absolutely," declared Wallingford. "Why, man, that back curtain of
yours is ten per cent. dividends."
"Then I'll wear it," agreed the doctor resignedly; "but I hate to. You
know I've honed for years to quit this batting around the country,
and just ached to wear short hair and a derby hat like a white man."
Wallingford looked at the weather-bronzed face and shook his head.
"What a pity that would be!" he declared. "However, Doc, your
wanderings cease from this minute, and your salary begins from
to-day."
"Fine," breathed the doctor. "I say, Wallingford, then suppose you
order me about three gross of bottles and some fresh labels. I'll get
the drugs myself and start in making a supply of the Sciatacata."
"You just nurse your leg," advised Wallingford. "Why, man, when we
start manufacturing the Peerless it will be in vats holding a hundred
gallons, and will be bottled by machinery that will fill, cork and
label a hundred bottles a minute. You're to superintend mixing; that's
your job."
It took many days, days of irksome loafing for the doctor, before
they had their final incorporation papers. Immediately they
elected themselves as directors, made Quagg president, Wallingford
secretary and Albert Blesser treasurer, and voted for an increase of
capitalization to one-half million dollars. They gave Quagg his
hundred shares and Wallingford his fifty; they voted Quagg his salary
and Wallingford his royalty; also they voted Wallingford an honorarium
of twenty-five per cent., payable in stock, for disposing of such
of the treasury shares as they needed issued, and immediately
Wallingford, who had spent the interim in cultivating acquaintances,
began to secure investors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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