for Monrovia. There he made his way immediately to the little
office the new firm had rented. Newmark had just come down.

"Hullo, Joe," greeted Orde, his teeth flashing in contrast to the
tan of his face. "I'm done. Anything new since you wrote last?"

Newmark had acquired his articles of incorporation and sold his
stock. How many excursions, demonstrations, representations, and
arguments that implied, only one who has undertaken the floating of
a new and untried scheme can imagine. Perhaps his task had in it as
much of difficulty as Orde's taming of the river. Certainly he
carried it to as successful a conclusion. The bulk of the stock he
sold to the log-owners themselves; the rest he scattered here and
there and everywhere in small lots, as he was able. Some five
hundred and thousand dollar blocks even went to Chicago. His own
little fortune of twenty thousand he paid in for the shares that
represented his half of the majority retained by himself and Orde.
The latter gave a note at ten per cent for his proportion of the
stock. Newmark then borrowed fifteen thousand more, giving as
security a mortgage on the company's newly acquired property--the
tugs, booms, buildings, and real estate. Thus was the financing
determined. It left the company with obligations of fifteen hundred
dollars a year in interest, expenses which would run heavily into
the thousands, and an obligation to make good outside stock worth at
par exactly forty-nine thousand dollars. In addition, Orde had
charged against his account a burden of two thousand dollars a year
interest on his personal debt. To offset these liabilities--outside
the river improvements and equipments, which would hold little or no
value in case of failure--the firm held contracts to deliver about
one hundred million feet of logs. After some discussion the