“‘Now, Reggie, my boy,’ he said, ‘here’s where you show me what there is in that noddle of yours. These securities have a value of ten thousand dollars. They’re bonds of the A. K. T. Railroad. It’s one of the safest and best managed roads in the country, and these are as good as government bonds. I’m going to put these absolutely in your hands to do with precisely as you like. Turn them into cash, pledge them, sell them, invest them--do anything you want to with them. At the end of a year come to me and tell me just what you’ve done and just what profit you’ve made, if any, from the use of them. In the meantime, I’ll give you a free hand and won’t ask you a word about them.