Then, somehow or other, probably through a combination of luck and shrewdness, he obtained a grant, a concession from the Brazilian Government, the long term lease of a good-sized tract of land on the upper Amazon.

It was very valuable because of its rubber trees." "Hey ?" Captain Elisha leaned forward.

"Say that again!" he commanded sharply.
Sylvester repeated his statement.

"He got the concession by paying twenty thousand dollars to the government of Brazil," he continued.

"To raise the twenty thousand he formed a stock company of two hundred and fifty shares at one hundred dollars each.