The Perfect Hamburger by Alexander McCall Smith

Author:Alexander McCall Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Kids
Publisher: For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Published: 1981-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

5

An Exciting Discovery

“We’re back exactly where we started,” Mr. Borthwick said as they drove home. “We’re none the wiser.”

Joe thought about this for a moment. It had been an incredible coincidence that Mr. Octavius himself, the great gourmet, had, one evening long ago, slipped into Mr. Borthwick’s hamburger place. And it had been another coincidence that on that very evening Mr. Borthwick had put a pinch of spice from the green tin into his hamburger.

“I hardly ever used that stuff,” Mr. Borthwick remarked. “I can’t imagine what I was doing!”

But of course Mr. Borthwick was right when he said that they were back where they began. A great chef and a great gourmet had both failed to identify the spice. They knew nothing more than they had known when they set out. It was very disappointing.

For the next few weeks nothing much happened. Then, one evening when Joe came by to help Mr. Borthwick paint some shelves, Mr. Borthwick gave him some bad news.

“I don’t think we’ll bother to work tonight,” he said dejectedly.

Joe was surprised. “But we were going to paint those shelves,” he protested. “Why don’t we start tonight?”

Mr. Borthwick sat down on his chair. He looked crumpled up, defeated.

“Listen to me, Joe,” he said seriously. “We just can’t go on. I owe the bank money. The business isn’t profitable and now the bank manager says that if I don’t pay up in three weeks then that will be that.”

“Why has the bank suddenly decided to ask for their money back?” Joe asked.

Mr. Borthwick looked up. “I think I know the reason,” he said quietly. “One of their biggest customers is Hamburger House. The manager of Hamburger House and the manager of the bank have become close friends. Need I say more?”

A knot of anger gripped Joe’s stomach. Mr. Borthwick’s enemies were determined to close him down at all costs.

Joe looked at the old man. The will to fight back seemed to have gone out of him completely. “If anyone is going to save the business,” Joe thought, “it will have to be me.”

As he lay in bed that night, Joe thought of what he could do. It all seemed hopeless. To pay the bank back, Mr. Borthwick needed money, and he just did not have it. Unless he got it within three weeks, he would have to sell.

If Joe was going to save Mr. Borthwick’s business, he’d have to find somebody who would provide the money for Mr. Borthwick to pay back the bank, or he would have to earn it himself. Joe didn’t know any wealthy people (nor did Mr. Borthwick), so he decided their only chance was to discover the name of the mystery spice.

“If only we had more of that wonderful magic spice,” he thought, “we could make hamburgers that would surprise the world. Nobody would go to the Hamburger House if they could have one of our burgers instead!” Somewhere, someone must know what the strange substance was.

Joe knew that Mr. Borthwick must

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.