“Well,” he said, “I have nothing against China.”
Benson outlined the situation quickly. The firm had acquired property in China not entirely through their own choice, and they wanted a thorough, clear report on it; they knew of no one—no one, Benson emphasized—who could do that as impartially and as well as Wayne. They would pay him a good sum and his expenses. It would take him a year, perhaps a year and a half. They named the figure. It was one that made marriage possible. They talked of the situation and the property and the demand for copper until Honaton began to look at his watch, a flat platinum watch, perfectly plain, you might have thought, until you caught a glimpse of a narrow line of brilliants along its almost imperceptible rim. His usual working day was over in half an hour.
“And when I come back, Mr. Benson?” said Wayne.
“Your place will be open for you here.”
There was a pause.
“Well, what do you say?” said Honaton.
“I feel very grateful for the offer,” said Pete, “but of course I can’t give you an answer now.”
“Why not, why not?” returned Honaton, who felt that he had given up half an hour for nothing if the thing couldn’t be settled on the spot; and even Benson, Wayne noticed, began to glower.
“You could probably give us as good an answer to-day as to-morrow,” he said.
Nothing roused Pete’s spirit like feeling a tremor in his own soul, and so he now answered with great firmness: