Part 8 (1/2)

What he meant was, ”In fact, we can do it so fast that I can pocket a fee of five hundred dollars right here and now while you have the money to pay me.”

”Now then,” he continued, ”let us see how it is to run.”

”Well,” said Tomlinson, ”I want you to put it that I give all my stock in the company to the university.”

”All of it?” said Skinyer, with a quiet smile to Beatem.

”Every cent of it, sir,” said Tomlinson; ”just write down that I give all of it to the college.”

”Very good,” said Skinyer, and he began to write, ”I, so-and-so, and so-and-so, of the county of so-and-so-Cahoga, I think you said, Mr. Tomlinson?”

”Yes, sir,” said the Wizard, ”I was raised there.”

”-do hereby give, a.s.sign, devise, transfer, and the transfer is hereby given, devised and a.s.signed, all those stocks, shares, hereditaments, etc., which I hold in the etc., etc., all, several and whatever-you will observe, Mr. Tomlinson, I am expressing myself with as great brevity as possible-to that inst.i.tution, academy, college, school, university, now known and reputed to be Plutoria University, of the city of etc., etc.”

He paused a moment. ”Now what special objects or purposes shall I indicate?” he asked.

Whereupon Tomlinson explained as best he could, and Skinyer, working with great rapidity, indicated that the benefaction was to include a Demolition Fund for the removal of buildings, a Retirement Fund for the removal of professors, an Apparatus Fund for the destruction of apparatus, and a General Sinking Fund for the obliteration of anything not otherwise mentioned.

”And I'd like to do something, if I could, for Mr. Boomer himself, just as man to man,” said Tomlinson.

”All right,” said Beatem, and he could hardly keep his face straight. ”Give him a chunk of the stock-give him half a million.”

”I will,” said Tomlinson; ”he deserves it.”

”Undoubtedly,” said Mr. Skinyer.

And within a few minutes the whole transaction was done, and Tomlinson, filled with joy, was wringing the hands of Skinyer and Beatem, and telling them to name their own fee.

They had meant to, anyway.

”Is that legal, do you suppose?” said Beatem to Skinyer, after the Wizard had gone. ”Will it hold water?”

”Oh, I don't think so,” said Skinyer, ”not for a minute. In fact, rather the other way. If they make an arrest for fraudulent flotation, this conveyance, I should think, would help to send him to the penitentiary. But I very much doubt if they can arrest him. Mind you, the fellow is devilish shrewd. You know, and I know that he planned this whole flotation with a full knowledge of the fraud. You and I know it-very good-but we know it more from our trained instinct in such things than by any proof. The fellow has managed to surround himself with such an air of good faith from start to finish that it will be deuced hard to get at him.”

”What will he do now?” said Beatem.

”I tell you what he'll do. Mark my words. Within twenty-four hours he'll clear out and be out of the state, and if they want to get him they'll have to extradite. I tell you he's a man of extraordinary capacity. The rest of us are nowhere beside him.”

In which, perhaps, there was some truth.

”Well, mother,” said the Wizard, when he reached the thousand-dollar suite, after his interview with Skinyer and Beatem, his face irradiated with simple joy, ”it's done. I've put the college now in a position it never was in before, nor any other college; the lawyers say so themselves.”

”That's good,” said mother.

”Yes, and it's a good thing I didn't lose the money when I tried to. You see, mother, what I hadn't realized was the good that could be done with all that money if a man put his heart into it. They can start in as soon as they like and tear down those buildings. My! but it's just wonderful what you can do with money. I'm glad I didn't lose it!”

So they talked far into the evening. That night they slept in an Aladdin's palace filled with golden fancies.