Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy-Firm of Fox Island by John Kendrick Bangs
CHAPTER XXIV.--THE FIRM'S PROFITS.
The story now moves forward a few weeks. It is November, andThanksgiving is close at hand. The fishing season is also nearly over.In fact the business of the young firm has for some time beenprincipally the shipping of oysters to the neighboring towns and cities.Not that they had beds of these delicious bivalves, but had madearrangements with the owner of an extensive plat a a few miles up thebay to market the oysters on shares.
Into all the work of the young partners Mr. Boyd had entered with zest;and under the healthful exercise and invigorating sea-air his usuallyslender frame grew strong, his muscles toughened perceptibly, and sohearty an appetite was created that he himself laughingly declared hehad never eaten so in his life, and he guessed it never would besatisfied.
There was another inmate of the island home now, also. One day Judd hadtaken a trip up to the State Farm, and when he returned his father camewith him, sober and in his right mind. He at first seemed somewhatashamed to meet Mr. Boyd, who had known him in the days of his earlymanhood, and before the accursed habit of drink had become fastened uponhim; but his brother-in-law met him so kindly, and seemed so thoroughlyinterested in his reformation, that he, too, began to take heart, andsaid:
"If I can only keep away from the sight and smell of the abominablestuff, perhaps I can be a man."
So he remained for the most part upon the island. He was particularlyskillful in cutting out oysters, and this soon became his recognizedpart of the young firm's business.
There had been frequent talks between the inmates of the island home asto what they should do as the winter months came on. Delightful as theplace was for the warmer months of the year, it was too bleak for awinter abode. Then, too, there would soon be but little work in whichthey could engage. But as the weather still remained mild and pleasant,no definite plan was agreed upon; in fact they were all loath to leave aspot that for many reasons had become inexpressibly dear to them.
So the week before Thanksgiving came, and found them still at theisland. The work for the day was over, and they had gathered, as wastheir custom, about the cozy sitting-room fire. The two fathers werereading, while the boys were busy with their accounts.
"There are nearly one hundred dollars out in small bills that we shallhave to collect before we can tell just what our season's work is goingto amount to," Budd said in a low tone to his partner.
"Well, you call off the names and amounts, and I will fill out thestatements, and we'll send them out at once," Judd responded, drawing asmall writing-desk toward him.
For an hour or longer the lads were engaged in this work; but it was atlength finished, and the account-books were put away.
"I'll tell you, Judd, what I want to do before we leave here," Budd nowsaid.
"What is it?" his partner asked, with interest.
"Go off for a good long sail; make a day of pleasure of it. For monthswe have had nothing but business, and I should really like to put adinner on board the sloop, and fuel, so we can make our tea or coffee,and all of us go off for a day's cruise."
"Where would you go?" inquired Judd, laughingly. "There are very fewplaces around here that you have not visited."
"Oh! go just where we took a notion to go," Budd replied. "Theenjoyable part of the trip would be in not having a definite place fixedbefore we started."
"Well, if to-morrow should prove as pleasant as to-day has been, youcouldn't choose a better time for going," went on his chum. "Father andUncle Henry, what do you think of Budd's idea?"
All four were soon busy discussing the suggestion, and they went totheir rooms with the understanding that if the morrow proved a fine daythe trip should be undertaken.
The lads were up early, and found the day was promising to be all thatthey could ask. The preparations were rapidly made, therefore, and atnine o'clock all necessary provisions had been stowed on board the sloopand they were ready to embark.
"Here, Budd; we are to go where you take a notion to go, so you can takethe helm," cried out Judd, hurrying to cast off the sloop's fasteningsand to hoist her jib and sail.
Budd took the assigned place, and turned the bow of the Sea Witch downthe bay. The wind was from the northwest, and they went along at a goodrate of speed.
Arriving at the mouth of the bay, Budd turned the sloop to the west andran in close to the shore, so as to have a good view of the Pier, whosehotels and cottages, closed for the season, made it seem like a desertedcity. On they went until Point Judith was reached; then Budd put up thehelm and ran directly out to sea.
The north light of Block Island was passed on the left, and along thewest shore of that gem of the sea the boat sped. At the southern endthe sloop was turned to the east, and it was evident that Budd was goingto run around the island. It was now after twelve o'clock, and Juddasked:
"Shall you land for dinner, Budd, or shall I get it ready in the cabin?"
"We are not going to land anywhere until we touch our own dock," saidBudd, in high glee. "I came out for a sail, and I'm going to have it.You can get dinner ready when you like."
Judd went into the cabin, built a fire in the tiny stove, and soon thefragrant odor of coffee filled the air. After awhile he announceddinner, and Mr. Boyd and Mr. Floyd went down to partake of it.
Budd, left alone on deck, and, as he afterward said, taken with a freak,put the sloop about again and ran off to sea. Those at dinner thoughtlittle of it until they felt the sloop suddenly heave up into the windand heard Budd call out:
"Here, Judd, quick; I want you."
They all jumped to their feet and rushed out of the cabin. The sloopwas miles off the southeast of Block Island, which looked like a merecloud at the northwest. Her sails flapped idly in the wind, her helmwas lashed, and Budd, with the scoop-net in band, was trying to reachseveral large bunches of grayish matter that were tossing a few feetaway upon the waves.
"What is it?" asked Judd, coming to Budd's assistance, and letting thesloop off a little so she would swing nearer to the object his partnerwas endeavoring to reach.
"I don't know," answered Budd, catching the largest bunch in his net anddrawing it on board, "but I'll soon find out."
But the more he examined the object, the more puzzled he was. Whilegrayish in color at a distance, on close inspection it proved to bevariegated, like marble. It also had a fatty, oily appearance, but wassolid to the touch, and when rubbed gave forth a peculiar sweet, earthyodor.
"What do you call it, father?" he at length asked.
"It is evidently a fatty matter of some kind, but I cannot tell itsprecise nature," Mr. Boyd replied.
Mr. Floyd, however, with a sparkle in his eye, said:
"My opinion is, lad, that you had better get the rest of it, for if Imistake not you have found a treasure."
As he spoke he took from his pocket a knife and cut off a thin slice ofthe matter, and applied a lighted match to it. It flashed almost likepowder, and the sweet odor was strongly noticeable.
"I thought so," he said, "though I never saw any of the stuff but oncebefore, and then only a tiny piece. It's ambergris, and it's worthdollars and dollars a pound."
"I've read about it," said Budd, quickly. "It is a substance that formsin the intestines of the whale, and is occasionally found floating onthe sea or thrown upon the shore. They use it in the manufacture ofperfumery and cordials; and as Uncle Silas says, it is very valuable.Here, Judd, help me to get the rest of it."
Elated at their discovery, the boys worked the sloop down near the otherpieces, and gathered them all up. There were a half dozen in all, thelargest being the one that Budd had first secured, while one or two werecomparatively small in size.
"How many pounds do you think there are of it, Uncle Silas?" asked Budd,when all had been secured.
"Nigh on to thirty pounds, I reckon," he said, lifting the pieces one byone.
"It is the biggest haul, then, we have made this season," remarked Judd,with open eyes.
The ambergris was placed in a tub the lads had on board and taken downinto the cabin. Then the sloop resumed her cruise, which was now in thedirection of the Brenton Reef lightship. From there she went up throughthe east passage to Newport, where, contrary to Budd's declaration a fewhours before, a landing was made.
In the lad's opinion, circumstances sometimes justified an alteration inone's plans, and he was anxious to ascertain if the substance he hadfound was really the commercial ambergris it was thought to be. So thestop was made, and with a small piece of the substance in hand he wentup to a large drug store, and submitted it to the inspection of theproprietor.
The apothecary, after looking at the substance attentively, went into aback room. He was gone so long that Budd began to get impatient; buthe, on returning, explained his long absence in these words:
"I have subjected this to every known test, and it proves genuine. Haveyou much of it? And where did you find it?"
Budd gave a full account of his finding the substance, and stated howmuch he believed he had. Then he ventured to ask its value.
"It is seldom, in these waters, that so much is found," replied thedruggist, "though there was a parallel case with yours a few summers agoon the shore of Cape Cod. As to the amount you will receive for it,that depends on the supply on hand at this time, far the larger portionof this material now used in the country being imported. No retaildruggist would want to buy a hundredth part of what you have. But I'lltell you what I am willing to do. We, as you may know, have a branchhouse in New York City. If you are a mind to leave your find with me, Iwill try and dispose of it for you."
"What would you ask for your trouble?" asked Budd.
"Well," said the man, smilingly, "I think we ought to have five percent. of the net amount received."
"I'll go down and consult with my partner in the find," said the lad,"and if we decide to accept the offer we will bring it right up here."
"Very well," the druggist replied.
A consultation with Judd and the two fathers was immediately held, andthe result was the lads took the ambergris up to the store. On reachingthere it was weighed and found to fall a little short of the lads'expectations, as there were but twenty-six and one-half pounds of it.
"Not a bad find, I assure you," said the proprietor of the store,filling out a receipt for the substance, which he handed to the boys."In about a week you may expect a check from me, and I will guarantee itwill exceed two thousand dollars."
It came within four days, however, and was drawn for the amount of twothousand five hundred and seventeen dollars and fifty cents, theambergris having sold readily for one hundred dollars a pound; and thedruggist, having deducted his five per cent, commission, remitted thebalance to the lads.
"Not a bad sum for deposit, chum," remarked Budd complacently, as helooked the check over. "Now, if we can finish collecting our bills, wecan draw a balance-sheet on Thanksgiving-day and see what our profitsfor the season have been."
Though the inmates of the Fox Island house had received an urgentinvitation to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Johnson in Boston they haddeclined, preferring to spend it at their own home.
When the day came, it found the affairs of the young firm practicallyclosed up for the season. The pound-nets had been taken up, cleaned, andreturned to Mr. Taylor, the owner. Crates and cars and traps werestored in an unused room over the kitchen. Bills were collected, andall expenses paid. The balance-sheet of the firm was drawn, and afterdinner it was read and discussed with much pride and interest on thepart of the young partners.
"Our receipts have been as follows," and Budd read this to his attentivelisteners:
From the fish-pounds, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $331.27 From fish secured in other ways, . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.74 From clams, lobsters, scallops and oysters, . . . . . . 195.20 From sailing and fishing-parties, . . . . . . . . . . . 115.00 From Mr. Benton, as a compensation for taking our boats, 25.00 Our part of Clapp & St. John's reward, . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00 Sale of ambergris, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,517.50 ---------- Making a total of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,223.71 Our total expenses have been . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.19 ---------- Leaving a net balance of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,960.52
"This gives to each partner the handsome income of $1,980.26. Hurrah!"and the lad waved high in the air the balance-sheet he had been reading.
"But what pleases me," said Judd, "is that without the unexpectedamounts that have come from the reward and the remarkable find, we havehad a profitable season. Take the profits of our business alone, and wehave the nice sum of four hundred and forty-three dollars and two cents,or over two hundred dollars apiece for the season. That is a betteraverage than I promised you when you came here, Budd."
"Yes, indeed," replied Budd, warmly.
Then he said to his father:
"Of course I have drawn something for personal expenses, and so hasJudd; but on looking over our bank account we find we have on depositnearly thirty-seven hundred dollars; so Judd has authorized me to saythat if you would like to have that amount to go into business with, youare welcome to it. With what you have left of the money Mr. Johnsonrefunded, you would have a capital larger than a good many men havestarted with."
"I thank you kindly for the offer," said Mr. Boyd with much feeling,"and in a few days we will see what had better be done. I have enjoyedstaying here very much, and have gained a good deal of strength fromthis life; but I am beginning to feel I ought to be doing something moreremunerative, before a great while. You--and Judd, too--however muchyou like the business you have engaged in, are capable of somethingbetter, and ought to be in some good school. Perhaps we can arrange thematter so that a portion of this money can be used for your immediateexpenses in this direction, while I, with the balance, enter businesslife again. I have a feeling I should prefer a small business by myselfthan to accept a clerkship under another;" and Mr. Boyd dropped his headupon his hand in deep thought.
At about the same hour Mr. Johnson sat in his library in his palatialresidence in Boston, thinking no less deeply. After awhile heexclaimed, aloud:
"I will do it!"
Then he took up his pen and wrote a brief note. Placing it in anenvelope, he addressed it to Mr. Boyd, and ringing the bell, he gave itto the servant who answered his ring, saying:
"Have John carry that out to the nearest box."
Brief as that note was, it was destined to change, and for the better,the plans that were slowly forming in Mr. Boyd's mind for not onlyhimself but the other dwellers in that island home.