It was the kind of work for which
his faculties fitted him, and this was his first chance to use his
faculties upon large affairs in an honest way. Thus far his work was
all diagnostic; cure, construction, would not come until later--and
perhaps Miss Sherwood would not trust him with such affairs. This
investigation, this checking up, involved no risk on her part as she
had frankly told him. The other would: it would mean at least partial
control of property, the handling of funds.
Miss Sherwood had many sessions with him; she was interested, but she
confessed herself helpless in this compilation and diagnosis of so
many facts and figures. Dick was prompt enough to report his stock
transactions, and he was eager enough to discuss the probable
fluctuation of this or that stock; but when asked to go over what
Larry had done, he refused flatly and good-humoredly to "sit in any
such slow, dead game."
"If my Solomon-headed sister is satisfied with what you're doing,
Captain Nemo, that's good enough for me," he would say. "So forget
that stuff till I'm out of sight. Open up, Captain--what do you think
copper is going to do?"
"I wish you could be put on an operating-table and have your
speculative streak knifed out of you, Dick. That oil stock you bought
the other day--why, a blind man could have seen it was wild-cat.
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