Mr. Wilding smiled behind the paper he was reading.
"I warned you against gold bricks," he said.
"Oh, but this is a legitimate oil business," Ned replied. "The company advertises in the best magazines, and is only selling stock low for a few days. By February first it is going to five dollars a share. It's only fifty cents now. Why, they have testimonials from prominent men, and an expert writes that the oil wells of the Mt. Olive concern are the richest ever seen. They have one well that runs a hundred barrels a day and they haven't it half bored yet."
"Ned," said Mr. Wilding, and he spoke a little gravely, "I'm not going to stand in your way. I've allowed you to take that hundred dollars to invest as you please. Now I'm not going to advise you. If I did I might as well invest the money myself. I want you to learn to be a business man and the best way to learn is by experience, though it isn't always the easiest way. If you want to buy stock in that oil company do so. If you get 'bitten' you do so with your eyes open."
"Don't you think it's a good investment, father?"
"I'm not going to say. Sometimes those con-
