The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 30, April, 1860 by Various
page 46 of 286 (16%)
page 46 of 286 (16%)
|
my own, to this end? What did this talk of noise and clamorous
notoriety mean? "To think," Herndon ran on, "that you should have beaten me, after all! that you should have first seen, first drunk of, first bathed in"-- "Drunk of! bathed in!" I repeated, mechanically. "Herndon, are you crazy? Would I dare to profane the sacred fountain?" He made no reply, unless a quizzical smile might be considered as such,--but drew me within the tent, out of hearing of the two Egyptians, and bade me give an account of my adventures. When I had finished,-- "This is grand!" he exclaimed. "Now, if you will share the benefits of this discovery with me, I will halve the cost of starting that steamboat I spoke of, and our plan will soon be afloat. I shouldn't wonder, now, if one might not, in order to start the town, get up some kind of a little summer-pavilion there, on the top of the mountain,--something on the plan of the Tip-Top House at Mount Washington, you know,--hang the stars and stripes off the roof, if you're not particular, and call it The Teuton-American. That would give you your rightful priority, you see. By the beard of the Prophet, as they say in Cairo, the thing would take!" I laughed heartily at this idea, and tried, at first in jest, then earnestly, to make him understand I had no such plans in connection with my discovery; that I only wanted to extend the amount of knowledge in the world,--not the number of ice-cream pavilions. I offered to let him take the whole affair into his own hands,--cost, profit, and all. I |
|