at property to its maximum output the more we make, you see. There's
a fine vein of quartz to develop, expensive machinery to install. It's
no more than fair that these outsiders who are clamoring to get aboard
should pay their share of the expense of organization and promotion.
You understand? You follow me?"

"Certainly," Hazel answered. "But what is the difficulty with Bill?"

Mr. Brooks once more had recourse to polishing his pince-nez.

"Bill is opposed to the whole plan," he said, pursing up his lips with
evident disapproval of Bill Wagstaff and all his works. "He seems to
feel that we should not have taken this step. He declares that no more
stock must be sold; that there must be no enlargement of capital. In
fact, that we must peg along in the little one-horse way we started.
And that would be a shame. We could make the Free Gold Mining Company
the biggest thing on the map, and put ourselves all on Easy Street."

He spread his hands in a gesture of real regret.

"Bill's a fine fellow," he said, "and one of my best friends. But he's
a hard man to do business with. He takes a very peculiar view of the
matter. I'm afraid he'll queer the company if he stirs up trouble over
this. That's why I hope you'll use whatever influence you have, to
induce him to withdraw his opposition."

"But," Hazel murmured, in some perplexity, "from what little I know of
corporations, I don't see how he can set up any difficulty. If a
majority of the stock-holders decide to do anything, that settles it,
doesn't it? Bill is a minority of one, from what you say. And I don't
see what difference his objections make, anyway. How can he stop you
from taking any line of action whatever?"

"Oh, not that at all," Brooks hastily assured. "Of course, we can
outvote him, and put it through. But we want him with us, don't you
see? We've a high opinion of his ability. He's the sort of man who
gets results; practical, you know; knows mining to a T. Only he shies
at our financial method. And if he began any foolish litigation, or
silly rumors got started about trouble among the company officers, it's
bound to hurt the stock. It's all right, I assure you. We're not
foisting a wildcat on the market. We've got the goods. Bill admits
that. It's the regular method, not only legitimate, but good finance.
Every dollar's worth of stock sold has the value behind it.
Distributes the risk a little more, that's all, and gives the com