"Fine, I would say," cried Mr. Hamilton, with a smile.
"And this is my birthday! The year is just up!" went on Dick. "I—I won't have to go and live with Uncle—"
He stopped in some confusion.
"Do you mean to tell me that this is a bona-fide investment, Mortimer?" asked Mr. Larabee, turning to his brother-in-law.
"Perfectly legal and legitimate," interrupted Mr. Darby. "Here is a copy of the incorporation agreement."
"Well," remarked Uncle Ezra, with a disappointed air, "I suppose you have fulfilled the conditions of your mother's will, Nephew Richard. I congratulate you," and he shook hands rather stiffly.
"Well, who would have thought it?" gasped Dick, hardly able to believe his good fortune. "I never gave that investment a thought—in fact, I never considered it an investment, Henry."
"It was, all the same, and I'm glad I am able to do you a favor, for you did me a mighty good turn. The old metal business is in fine shape, and I have more than I can attend to."
"Yes, we must be going, I have a big scheme on hand," put in Mr. Darby. "A very big scheme, there are enormous possibilities in it. Enormous, sir!"
"If they only come out," said Henry, with a laugh, as he and his father withdrew.
