"I have come to give notice of my withdrawal from the June pool in common," began MacBirney without preface.
"I am not the one to give notice to," returned Kimberly civilly, "inasmuch as I am not in the June pool and not in touch with its operations."
"Well, I've sold--I am selling," MacBirney corrected himself hastily, "my allotment, no matter who is at interest."
"McCrea and my brother are the organizers----"
"I understand," interjected MacBirney, "that you made a good deal of talk about my action in the December pool a year ago--I give you no chance to say I haven't served ample notice this time."
"On the contrary, I quieted a great deal of talk about your action a year ago. It was so grossly unfair to your associates that I ascribed your unloading of your stock without notifying them to rank ignorance, and was disposed to overlook it on that ground."
MacBirney smiled with some sarcasm. "Though you were careful enough to say publicly that you would never be caught in another pool with me."
"I never have been, have I? And I did not 'say publicly'; I said so to McCrea, who had my permission to tell you. It cost me six hundred thousand dollars at that time to support the market against you for three days. And while I like to see my associates make money, I object to their making it out of me."
"You didn't say so to poison my wife against me?"
"I have never, MacBirney, spoken of that or of any other of your business affairs to your wife. I never have spoken even your name to your wife, in praise or in blame, until you left her--except twice to ask her if she loved you. Even that she treated as an insult."