"I wonder whether you know anything about these?"
"I know the gentleman who seems to have charge of the matter. Why do you ask?"
"Because I prefer to deal with the principal instead of an agent. It saves time, and one arrives at an understanding easier."
"In this case there's no great difficulty. Ye have only to pay the bills."
"Precisely," agreed Williamson. "They can be paid—that's worth noting—but not just yet."
Mackellar understood this as a hint that the power Williamson's debts gave his antagonist was only temporary.
"In the meantime, ye might be put to some inconvenience," he replied. "One cannot proceed against a man for debt without publicity, which is apt to be damaging, and unpleasant to his friends."
"Exactly. That is what I want to avoid."
"And yet ye cannot pay the bills! Weel, ye are doubtless aware that one gets nothing for nothing, and since ye must ask for some delay, what could ye offer by way of consideration?"
"To begin with, I should like to hear what the principal, the man who stands behind my creditors, wants." Williamson paused and added meaningly: "I think you know."