Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
"
"It is but natural that we should feel an interest in you, Mr. Jones,"
replied Mr. Merrick; "yet I assure you we have no desire to pry into your
personal affairs. You have already volunteered a general statement of
your antecedents and the object of your visit to America, and that, I
assure you, will suffice us. Pardon me for asking an impertinent
question."
The boy seemed perplexed, now.
"I did not consider it impertinent, sir. I made a business proposal to
your nieces," he said, "and before they could accept such a proposal they
would be entitled to know something of my financial standing."
For a green, inexperienced youth, he spoke with rare acumen, thought Mr.
Merrick; but the old gentleman had now determined to shield the boy from
a forced declaration of his finances, so he said:
"My nieces can hardly afford to accept your proposition. They are really
able to build one or two theatres without inconveniencing themselves,
but twenty would be beyond their means. You, of course, understand they
were not seeking an investment, but trying, with all their hearts, to
benefit the children. I thoroughly approve their original idea, but if it
requires twenty picture theatres to render it practical, they will
abandon the notion at once."
Jones nodded absently, his eyes half closed in thought. After a brief
pause he replied:
"I hate to see this idea abandoned at the very moment of its birth. It's
a good idea, and in no way impractical, in my opinion. So permit me to
make another proposition. I will build the twenty theatres myself, and
furnish the films for them, provided the young ladies will agree to
assume the entire management of them when they are completed."
Dead silence followed this speech. The girls did some rapid-fire mental
calculations and realized that this young man was proposing to invest
something like fourteen hundred thousand dollars, in order that they
might carry out their philanthropic conception. Why should he do this,
even if he could afford it?
- Page:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
There was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.
© 2013-2019 FairyTales
Almost all texts on this website are from the Public Domain.