Mr. Mathews gave him permission to proceed.
“You see—I—Mr. Clark, that is,”—Mr. Opp’s fingers were working nervously on the back of the chair before him,—“him and myself went over the ground together, and—I—well, I must say I don’t consider him a competent judge.”
Mr. Mathews smiled. “I am afraid, Mr. Opp, that your opinion is overruled. Mr. Clark is a recognized authority, although,” he added significantly, “of course the most expert make mistakes at times.”
“That ain’t the point,” persisted Mr. Opp; “it’s the conflicting difference in what he said to me, and what he’s reported to them. He told me that he didn’t consider our prospects was worth [p285] a picayune, and if the wells were drilled, they probably wouldn’t run a year. I didn’t believe him then; but you say now that he is a expert and that he knows.”
Mr. Mathews’s tolerance seemed limitless. He waited patiently for Mr. Opp to finish, then he said smoothly:
“Yes, yes; I understand your point perfectly, Mr. Opp. Mr. Clark’s remarks were injudicious, but he was looking at all sides of the question. He saw me after he saw you, you know, and I was able to direct his attention to the more favorable aspects of the case. His report was entirely favorable, and I guess that is all that concerns us, isn’t it?” He embraced the room with his smile.
During the next quarter of an hour Mr. Opp sat with his arms folded and his eyes bent on the floor and bit his lips furiously. Something was wrong. Again and again he fought his way back to this conclusion through the enveloping mazes of Mr. Mathews’s plausibility. Why [p286] had they waited so long after drilling that first well? Why, after making elaborate plans and buying machinery, had they suddenly decided to sell? Why had Mr. Clark given such contradictory opinions? What did Mr. Mathews mean by that message from Mr. Gallop’s office? Mr. Opp’s private affairs, trembling in the balance, were entirely lost sight of in his determination for fair play.
Covering his eyes with his hand, and trying not to hear the flood of argument which Mr. Mathews was bringing to bear upon his already convinced audience, Mr. Opp attempted to recall all that Mr. Gallop had told him.
“He said ‘manipulate,’” repeated Mr. Opp to himself. “I remember that, and he said ‘telegraph New York party that terms were agreed on.’ Then he said ‘mail check to Clark; tell him to keep his mouth shut.’ What’s he paying Clark for? Why—”
“The motion before the house,” Mr. Tucker’s piping voice broke in upon his agitated reasoning, “is whether the [p287] stock-holders of the Turtle Creek Land Company is willing to sell out at a rate of seven to one to the Union Syndicate.”