"It will work a hardship on them—they need their salaries."
"If they don't like it let them find other jobs."
"They can't, Simon—there aren't any in Hambleton."
"Then let 'em move to another village—there isn't one of them who'd be a real loss to the community."
"They can't do that, either, they're all family men and they can't pull up stakes and shift at a minute's notice."
"Then they'll stay here and do the best they can until we're ready to whistle 'em to heel again. So much the better. Nothing breaks a strike quicker than adverse public opinion—and those clerks are going to provide a lot of that when they begin to feel the pinch. I'm giving you a lesson, Jason, not only in economy, but in strategy!"
"Just the same—I don't like it."
Simon Varr's eyebrows had gone up a full inch and dropped again.
"You don't like it?" he retorted ironically. "Well, I do—and what I say, goes!"
Which had ended the debate, since he spoke the simple truth.