"But I'm not a competitor. That's just the point. I'm governed by your methods, your plans, your prices. I've been pretty careful about that. No, sir, I know better than to look for trouble with the Amalgamated."
"One moment, Wray," put in Janney; "we don't seem to be getting anywhere. Let's simplify matters. We can get along without your plant, but if we wanted to buy, what would you want for it?"
"Do you mean the smelter—or all my interests in the Valley?" asked Wray quickly.
"The smelter, of course—and the Denver and Saguache Railroad."
"I don't care to sell—I've got other interests—my Development Company, the coal mines and lumber—they're all a part of the same thing, Mr. Janney, like the limbs of my body—cut one off, and I might bleed to death."
"We could give you traffic agreements."
"I'd rather not. I'll sell—but only as a whole—gold mines, coal, lumber, and all."
Wray caught General Bent's significant nod.
"That is my last word, gentlemen," he concluded firmly.
There was a silence, which Cornelius Bent broke at last.