Stirling laughed, “Anyway, why should you want to make an offer of that kind? Suppose I held the certificate over, it wouldn’t straighten things out for you. You have to deliver to the people who acted on my behalf so much Grenfell stock, and you can’t get it—now.”
“That’s true,” was the dejected answer. “What are you going to do?”
“That,” said Stirling, grimly, “is a matter that must stand over until I can send for the man who found the Grenfell mine. I can’t tell you what course he’s likely to adopt, but in the meantime I’d like to point out just how you stand. You set in motion the laws of supply and demand to break a struggling man. They’re the only ones you recognize; but, as it happens, they’re immutable laws that work both ways, and you’re hard up against them now. It’s not a pleasant situation, but I can’t say how far we may be disposed to let you off it until I’ve had a talk with Mr. Weston. After that, I’ll send for you.”
There was nothing more to be said; and when the two men went out, Stirling turned to Wannop.
“If you can get a wire through to Mr. Weston, tell him to come back at once.”
“I’ll have it done,” said Wannop. “He said he had sent an Indian to wait for letters or messages at the nearest railroad settlement. You have those men in your clutches. You could break them if you wanted to.”
“Well,” laughed Stirling, “on the whole I’m more disposed to make them hand over a moderate sum, and to let them off after that, on condition that in the future they keep their hands off the Grenfell Consolidated.”
“You’d take their word?” Wannop asked.
“Yes,” said Stirling, with an air of whimsical reflection; “in this case, anyway, I ’most think I could. They’ve had about enough of the Grenfell Consols. I guess they found them prickly.”
Then he went out, and Wannop despatched a telegram to Weston, who left the mine immediately after it reached him. Somewhat to his astonishment, he, found Stirling awaiting him when he sprang down from the car platform in the station at Montreal, and the latter smiled benevolently as he grasped his hand.