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hadnoappetite；buttheremightstillbemuchtodo——itwasneedfulIshouldkeepmyselfinpropertrim，ifitwereonlytodigestthenowtooprobablebadnews；andleavingwordattheofficeforPinkerton，Isatdowntotableandcalledforsoup，oysters，andapintofchampagne。
Iwasnotlongset，beforemyfriendreturned。Helookedpaleandratherold，refusedtohearoffood，andcalledfortea。
“Isupposeall’sup？”saidI，withanincrediblesinking。
“No。”hereplied；“I’vepulleditthrough，Loudon；justpulleditthrough。Icouldn’thaveraisedanothercentinall’Frisco。
Peopledon’tlikeit；Longhurstevenwentbackonme；saidhewasn’tathree-card-monteman。”
“Well，what’stheodds？”saidI。“That’sallwewanted，isn’tit？”
“Loudon，ItellyouI’vehadtopaybloodforthatmoney。”criedmyfriend，withalmostsavageenergyandgloom。“It’sallonninetydays，too；Icouldn’tgetanotherday——notanotherday。Ifwegoaheadwiththisaffair，Loudon，you’llhavetogoyourselfandmakethefurfly。I’llstayofcourse——I’vegottostayandfacethetroubleinthiscity；though，Itellyou，Ijustlongtogo。
Iwouldshowthesefatbrutesofsailorswhatworkwas；I
wouldbeallthroughthatwreckandoutattheotherend，beforetheyhadboostedthemselvesuponthedeck！Butyou’lldoyourlevelbest，Loudon；Idependonyouforthat。Youmustbeallfireandgritanddashfromtheword’go。’Thatschoonerandtheboodleonboardofherareboundtobeherebeforethreemonths，orit’sB。U。S。T——bust。”
“I’llswearI’lldomybest，Jim；I’llworkdoubletides。”saidI。
“Itismyfaultthatyouareinthisthing，andI’llgetyououtagainorkillmyself。Butwhatisthatyousay？’Ifwegoahead？’Haveweanychoice，then？”
“I’mcomingtothat。”saidJim。“Itisn’tthatIdoubttheinvestment。Don’tblameyourselfforthat；youshowedafine，soundbusinessinstinct：Ialwaysknewitwasinyou，butthenitrippedrightout。Iguessthatlittlebeastofanattorneyknewwhathewasdoing；andhewantednothingbetterthantogobeyond。No，there’sprofitinthedeal；it’snotthat；it’stheseninety-daybills，andthestrainI’vegiventhecredit，forI’vebeenupanddown，borrowing，andbeggingandbribingtoborrow。Idon’tbelievethere’sanothermanbutmein’Frisco。”
hecried，withasuddenfervorofselfadmiration，“whocouldhaveraisedthatlasttenthousand！——Thenthere’sanotherthing。
Ihadhopedyoumighthavepeddledthatopiumthroughtheislands，whichissaferandmoreprofitable。Butwiththisthree-monthlimit，youmustmaketracksforHonolulustraight，andcommunicatebysteamer。I’lltrytoputupsomethingforyouthere；I’llhaveamanspokentowho’spostedonthatlineofbiz。Keepabrightlookoutforhimassoon’syoumaketheislands；forit’sonthecardshemightpickyouupatseainawhaleboatorasteam-launch，andbringthedollarsrightonboard。”
ItshowshowmuchIhadsufferedmorallyduringmysojourninSanFrancisco，thatevennowwhenourfortunestrembledinthebalance，Ishouldhaveconsentedtobecomeasmugglerand(ofallthings)asmugglerofopium。YetIdid，andthatinsilence；withoutaprotest，notwithoutatwinge。
“Andsuppose。”saidI，“supposetheopiumissosecurelyhiddenthatIcan’tgethandsonit？”
“Thenyouwillstaytheretillthatbrigiskindling-wood，andstayandsplitthatkindling-woodwithyourpenknife。”criedPinkerton。“Thestuffisthere；weknowthat；anditmustbefound。Butallthisisonlytheonestringtoourbow——thoughI
tellyouI’vegoneintoithead-first，asifitwasourbottomdollar。Why，thefirstthingIdidbeforeI’draisedacent，andwiththisothernotioninmyheadalready——thefirstthingIdidwastosecuretheschooner。TheNoraCreina，sheis，sixty-fourtons，quitebigenoughforourpurposesincethericeisspoiled，andthefastestthingofhertonnageoutofSanFrancisco。Forabonusoftwohundred，andamonthlycharterofthree，Ihaveherformyowntime；wagesandprovisions，sayfourhundredmore：adropinthebucket。Theybeganfiringthecargooutofher(shewaspartloaded)neartwohoursago；andaboutthesametimeJohnSmithgottheorderforthestores。That’swhatIcallbusiness。”
“Nodoubtofth
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