The next morning Wannop called at the agent's office in a neighboring town. He was shown into a dingy room, where an elderly man with spectacles received him with deference.
"I've been looking into accounts, Judson," Wannop began abruptly. "After deducting your commission and the cost of the repairs you agreed to, I find that the return on my property for the past year is small. Now I met Maxwell the other day and he hinted that it might be managed to better advantage."
The agent looked alarmed.
"I understood you didn't wish to put the screw on your tenants; and it isn't good policy."
"No," said Wannop; "I want to be fair. I don't think Andrew Allinson would wish any undue pressure put on his tenants either. As we talk over things now and then, I know his views."
Judson pondered this without answering, and Wannop resumed:
"My business and Andrew's should be worth a good deal to you, though Maxwell seemed to think that both could be improved."
"Maxwell couldn't get you a penny more than I have got," Judson declared. "I should be very sorry if you contemplated a change."
"I shouldn't do so without a strong reason. You look after the Reverend Robert Allinson's property, but your commission on it can't be large."
"It is not," said Judson, beginning to understand where the other's remarks led.