at I shall drift
into. At home I was a dry-goods merchant. My partner and I
disagreed and I sold out to him. I drew ten thousand dollars out of
the concern, invested four-fifths of it, and have come out here with
the remainder, to see what I can do."

"Ten thousand dollars! What a rich man you must be!" said Joe.

"In your eyes, my boy. As you get older, you will find that it will
not seem so large to you. At any rate, I hope to increase it
considerably."

They were walking on Kearny Street, near California Street, when
Joe's attention was drawn, to a sign:

THIS RESTAURANT FOR SALE

It was a one-story building, of small dimensions, not fashionable,
nor elegant in its appointments, but there wasn't much style in San
Francisco at that time.

"Would you like to buy out the restaurant?" asked Morgan.

"I don't feel like buying anything out with empty pockets," said Joe.

"Let us go in."

The proprietor was a man of middle age.

"Why do you wish to sell out?" asked Morgan.

"I want to go to the mines. I need an out-of-door life and want a
change."

"Does this business pay?"

"Sometimes I have made seventy-five dollars profit in a day."

"How much do you ask for the business?"

"I'll take five hundred dollars, cash."

"Have you a reliable cook?"

"Yes. He knows his business."

"Will he stay?"

"For the present. If you want a profitable business, you will do
well to buy."

"I don't want it for myself. I want it for this young man."

"For this boy?" asked the restaurant-keeper, surprised.

Joe looked equally surprised.

CHAPTER XVII

JOE STARTS IN BUSINESS

"Do you think you can keep a hotel, Joe?" asked Morgan.

"I can try," said Joe promptly.

"Come in, gentlemen," said the restaurant-keeper.

"We can talk best inside."

The room was small, holding but six tables. In the rear was the
kitchen.

"Let me see your scale of prices," said Morgan.

It was shown him.

"I could breakfast cheaper at Delmonico's," he said.

"And better," said the proprietor of the restaurant; "but I find
people here willing to pay big prices, and, as long as that's the
case, I should be a fool to reduce them. Yes, there's a splendid
profit to be made in the business. I ought to charge a thousand
dollars, instead of five hundred."

"Why don't you?" asked Morgan bluntly.

"Because I couldn't get it. Most men, when they come out here, are
not content to settle down in the town. They