“I am willing to say to you, Mr. Barslow,” said he, “that we are willing to take over your line when the propitious time comes. We don’t think that now is such a time. Why not run along as we are?”
“Because we are not satisfied with the railroad business as a side line, Mr. Pendleton,” said I. “We must have more mileage or none at all, and if we begin extensions, we shall be drawn into railroading as an exclusive vocation. We prefer to close out that department, and to put in all our energies to the development of our city.”
“When must you know about this?” he asked.
“I came East to close it up, if possible,” I answered. “You are familiar with the situation, and we thought must be ready to decide.”
“Two and a quarter millions,” he objected, “is out of the question. I can’t expect my directors to view half the price with any favor. How can I?”
“Show them our earnings,” I suggested.
“Yes,” said he, “that will do very well to talk to people who can be made to forget the fact that you’ve been building a city there from a country village, and your line has been pulling in everything to build it with. The next five years will be different. Again, while I feel sure the business men of your town will still throw things our way, as they have your way—tonnage I mean—there might be a tendency to divide it up more than when your own people were working for the trade. And the next five years will be different anyhow.”
“Do you remember,” said I, “how skeptical you were as to the past five?”
“I acknowledge it,” said he, laughing. “The fact is I didn’t give you credit for being as big men as you are. But even a big man, or a big town, can reach only as high as it can. But we can’t settle that question. I shouldn’t expect a Lattimore boomer ever to adopt my view of it. I shall give this matter some attention to-day, and while I feel sure we are too far apart ever to come together, come in in the morning, and we will look at it again.”
“I hope we may come together,” said I, rising; “we built the line to bring you into Lattimore, and we want to keep you there. It has made our town, and we prize the connection highly.”