فصل پنجم

CHAPTER FIVE

In which the young man learns

to have faith

THE NEXT MORNING the young man felt as if he’d been run over by a three-ton truck.

He glanced at himself in the mirror. He had slept in his clothes and looked awful but it only bolstered his determination. He had one thought in mind: to find the old man, give him back his “secret,” and get his check back.

He ran his fingers through his hair and headed toward the door, recalling it had been locked the night before. It wasn’t now. He strode out angrily and headed for the dining room.

He found the millionaire sitting calmly at the table, dressed in the same clothes he’d had on the day before: clean but surprisingly threadbare gardener’s clothes. His large, pointed, wide-brimmed hat was lying in front of him on the table.

The millionaire was flipping a coin in the air and counting as it landed on the table.

“Nine,” he muttered without taking his eyes off the coin.

“Ten . . . damn!” He lifted his head.

“I’ve never been able to go beyond ten,” he said. “I get what I want ten times in a row and then invariEach time you begin to have doubtsably it fails on the eleventh throw, even though I toss it exactly the same way each time.” The young man realized he had been duped the night before.

“My father, who was an accomplished magician, would regularly get to fifteen,” said the millionaire. “I didn’t inherit his talent.” The young man asked to see the coin. The millionaire cheerfully gave it to him, and the young man flipped it onto the table. Heads. Tails. Heads. Tails. It obviously wasn’t a trick coin, unless there was some secret mechanism that escaped his notice.

“There was nothing dishonest about our bet yesterday,” said the millionaire. “I simply displayed my skill at handling money. Some people take skillfulness for dishonesty, but they’re two very different things.” The young man brandished the letter and threw it on the table.

“You did a fine job of tricking me, sir. You made yourself some easy money there: $25,000 for a blank sheet of paper.” “It’s the secret of wealth,” the millionaire said.

“Well, you’re going to have to explain yourself. Do you take me for an idiot?” “An idiot? Of course not. You’re simply lacking in insight. It’s quite normal. Your mind is still immature.” “Maybe it is, but I can certainly recognize a blank piece of paper when I see one.” “I assure you that you can become very rich in-deed with just this blank piece of paper. That’s all I needed to become an instant millionaire way back when. But since I must soon go back to tend my beloved roses, I’ll help you. Listen carefully, because as soon as you apply this secret successfully, you’ll have to share it with others. Once you’ve freed yourself of the shackles of poverty, you’ll have to show the way to those still bound hand and foot. May I ask you to repeat the promise you made yesterday?” There was no doubt about it; the millionaire was an extraordinarily persuasive man. Just a few minutes before the young man had been ready to curse him and now he was listening attentively.

He repeated his promise.

“I must warn you that becoming a millionaire will probably seem too easy. But don’t let simplicity deceive you. Each time you begin to have doubts, re-member Mozart: true genius resides in simplicity. You’ll tend to have doubts in the beginning. With time, as wealth is magnetically attracted to you in a most unexpected way, you’ll begin to understand.” “That’s exactly what I’ve been hoping for with all my heart: to understand!” “So much the better. Once you’ve grasped this secret, you’ll know why you believe in it. But in the beginning, despite its simplicity, this secret will seem so surprising that you’ll be incapable of understanding it — or even believing it, for that matter. So I have to ask you to make a small leap of faith. If the secret exists, you’ll have gained everything because of your faith. If it doesn’t, you won’t have lost a thing.”