“Well, on mortgages and notes; and now as collateral on a loan that I made his widow. I own a clean majority of the stock.”
“Oh, you do, eh?” observed Wiley and rubbed 81his jaw thoughtfully while Blount looked mildly on. “Well, what are you going to do?”
“Why, I’d like to buy back that tax deed,” answered Blount amiably, “and get control of my property.”
“Oh,” said Wiley, and looked down the valley with eyes that squinted shrewdly at the sun. “All right,” he agreed, “just to show you that I’m a sport, I’ll give you a quit-claim deed right now for the sum of one hundred dollars.”
“You will?” challenged Blount, reaching tremulously for his fountain pen and then he paused at a thought. “Very well,” he said, but as he filled out the form he stopped and gazed uneasily at Wiley. Here was a mining engineer selling a possessory right to the Paymaster for the sum of one hundred dollars; while he, a banker, was spending a hundred dollars a day in what had proved so far to be dead work. “Er–I haven’t any money with me,” he suggested at length. “Perhaps–well, perhaps you could wait?”
“Sure!” replied Wiley, rising up from where he was seated, “I’ll wait for anything, except my supper. Where’s the best place to eat in town, now?”
“Why, at Mrs. Huff’s,” returned Blount in surprise. “But about this quit-claim, perhaps a check would do as well?”
“What, are the Huffs still here?” exclaimed Wiley, starting off. “Why, I thought─”
“No, they decided to stay,” answered Blount, 82following after him. “But now, Wiley, about this quit-claim?”
“Well, gimme your check! Or keep it, I don’t care–I came away without my breakfast this morning.”