This night Tommy had something on his mind besides casual conversation.  He wasted little time in preliminaries.

“Would you be interested in taking over my car agencies on a percentage basis, Wes?” he asked point-blank, when he had settled himself in a chair with a cigar in his mouth.  “I have worked up a good business with the Standard and the Petit Six.  I don’t like to let it go altogether.  I shall have to devote all my time to the ship plant.  That looms biggest on the horizon.  But I want to hold these agencies as an anchor to windward.  You could run both places without either suffering, I’m confident.  Ill make you a good proposition.”

Thompson reflected a minute.

“What is your proposition?” he asked at length.  “I daresay I could handle it.  But I can’t commit myself offhand.”

“Of course not,” Tommy agreed.  “You can go over my books from the beginning, and see for yourself what the business amounts to.  I’d be willing to allow you seventy-five per cent. of the net.  Based on last year’s business you should clear twelve thousand per annum.  Sales are on the up.  You might double that.  I would hold an option of taking over the business on ninety days’ notice.”

“It sounds all right,” Thompson admitted.  “I’ll look into it.”

“I want quick action,” Tommy declared.  “Say, to-morrow you arrange for some certified accountant to go over my books and make out a balance sheet.  I’ll pay his fee.  I’m anxious to be free to work on the ship end.”

“All right.  I’ll do that.  We can arrange the details later if I decide to take you up,” Thompson said.

Tommy stretched his arms and yawned.

“By jove,” said he, “I’m going to be the busiest thing on wheels for awhile.  It’s no joke running a big show.”

“I didn’t know you were a shipbuilder,” Thompson commented.

“I’m not,” Tommy admitted, stifling another yawn.  “But I can hire ’em—­both brains and labor.  The main thing is I’ve got the contracts.  That’s the chief item in this war business.  The rest is chiefly a matter of business judgment.  It’s something of a jump, I’ll admit, but I can negotiate it, all right.”

“As a matter of fact,” he continued presently, and with a highly self-satisfied note in his voice, “apart from the executive work it’s what the Americans call a lead-pipe cinch.  We can’t lose.  I’ve been fishing for this quite a while, and I put it over by getting in touch with the right people.  It’s wonderful what you can do in the proper quarter.  The Vancouver Construction Company consists of Joe Hedley and myself.  Joe is a very clever chap.  Has influential people, too.  We have contracts with the I.M.B. calling for ten schooners estimated to cost three hundred thousand dollars per.  We finance the construction, but we don’t really risk a penny.  The contracts are on a basis of cost, plus ten per cent.  You see?  If we go above or under the estimate it doesn’t matter much.  Our profit is fixed.  The main consideration is speed.  The only thing we can be penalized for is failure to launch and deliver within specified dates.”