Their father said simply, ‘Your money?’
‘Of course. And we pay for the boost.’
‘Go ahead. Go right ahead. Don’t let me discourage you. Any objections from me would simply confirm your preconceptions.’
Castor was baffled by the lack of opposition. ‘What’s the matter with it, Dad? You worried about the danger involved?’
‘Danger? Heavens, no! It’s your privilege to get yourselves killed in your own way. Anyhow, I don’t think you will. You’re young and you’re both smart, even if you don’t show it sometimes, and you’re both in tiptop physical condition, and I’m sure you’ll know your equipment.’
‘Then what is it?’
‘Nothing. For myself, I long since came to the firm conclusion that a man can do more productive work, and make more money if this is his object, by sitting down with his hands in his pockets than by any form of physical activity. Do you happen to know the average yearly income of a meteor miner?’
‘Well, no, but —’
‘Less than six hundred a year.’
‘But some of them get rich!’
‘Sure they do. And some make much less than six hundred a year; that’s an average, including the rich strikes. Just as a matter of curiosity, bearing in mind that most of those miners are experienced and able, what is it that you two expect to bring to this trade that will enable you to raise the yearly average? Speak up; don’t be shy.’
‘Doggone it, Dad, what would you ship?’
‘Me? Nothing. I have no talent for trade. I’m going out for the ride — and to take a look at the bones of Lucifer. I’m beginning to get interested in planetology. I may do a book about it—’
‘What happened to your other book?’
‘I hope that isn’t sarcasm, Cas. I expect to have it finished before we get there.’ He adjourned the discussion by leaving.
The twins turned to leave, found Hazel grinning at them. Castor scowled at her. ‘What are you smirking at, Hazel?’
‘You two.’
‘Well… why shouldn’t we have a whirl at meteor mining?’
‘No reason. Go ahead; you can afford the luxury. But see here, boys, do you really want to know what to ship to make some money?’
‘Sure!’
‘What’s your offer?’
‘Percentage cut? Or flat fee? But we don’t pay if we don’t take your advice.’
‘Oh, rats! I’ll give it to you free. If you get advice free, you won’t take it and I’ll be able to say, “I told you so!”‘
‘You would, too.’
‘Of course I would. There’s no warmer pleasure than being able to tell a smart aleck, “I told you so, but you wouldn’t listen.” Okay, here it is, in the form of a question, just like an oracle: Who made money in all the other big mining rushes of history?’
‘Why, the chaps who struck it rich, I suppose.’
‘That’s a laugh. There are so few cases of prospectors who actually hung on to what they had found and died rich that they stand out like supernovae. Let’s take a famous rush, the California Gold Rush back in 1861- no, 1861 was something else; I forget. 1849, that was it — the ‘Forty-niners. Read about ’em in history?’
‘Some.’
‘There was a citizen named Sutter; they found gold on his place. Did it make him rich? It ruined him. But who did get rich?’
‘Tell us, Hazel. Don’t bother to dramatise it’
‘Why not? I may put it in the show — serial numbers rubbed off, of course. I’ll tell you: everybody who had something the miners had to buy. Grocers, mostly. Boy, did they get rich! Hardware dealers. Men with stamping mills, Everybody but the poor miner. Even laundries in Honolulu.’
‘Honolulu? But that’s way out in the Pacific, off China somewhere.’
‘It was in Hawaii the last time I looked. But they used to ship dirty laundry from California clear to Honolulu to have it washed — both ways by sailing ship. That’s about like having your dirty shirts shipped from Marsport to Luna. Boys, if you want to make money, set up a laundry in the Hallelujah. But it doesn’t have to be a laundry — just anything, so long as the miners want it and you’ve got it. If your father wasn’t a Puritan at heart, I’d set up a well-run perfectly honest gambling hall! That’s like having a rich uncle.’