Wolf drained his glass and went off. When he had gone Jefferson turned to Austin and smiled.
"I reckon nothing's doing!"
"Then why did you promise to talk about it?"
"I am talking about it," Jefferson rejoined. "I didn't want Wolf to imagine I'd resolved to turn down his proposition."
"After all, I don't think he meant to cheat us."
"Not in a sense. He knows you're not a fool and Don Pancho's very keen."
"Then what does he want?" Austin asked.
"I don't know; I'm curious. Anyhow, he doesn't want me, although if you and Don Pancho joined, he reckoned I'd come in. I'm not a British merchant; I'm an American."
"But what has this to do with it?"
"I allow I don't altogether see. Anyhow, Wolf's a German." Austin looked puzzled and Jefferson smiled. "You don't get me yet? The fellow has cultivated out his accent and claims he's English. That's important, because he got his English in the United States and doesn't claim he's American. When I talked about Chicago and Munich I made an experiment."