"I see." There was a curious note in Judith's voice which Baker was unable to explain, and she seemed to stare at something beyond and behind him. The suggestion of someone else in the room was so strong that he turned around. But all he saw was a pile of books on a chair. They were too far away for him to note that one of them was severely labelled "Proceedings of the Congressional Committee of Inquiry into the Conditions Obtaining in the Algoma Mine Fields."
"If I was unwilling to sell out to those men," she said suddenly, "what then?"
"You couldn't refuse. The sale would be held by the receiver, for the benefit of the other bondholders as well as yourself. Besides, why should you refuse even two cents on the dollar, when refusal would mean nothing?"
She ignored his question. "Suppose I wanted to get possession of the paper myself?"
"What in the world would you want it for?"
"Well, just for fun, let's suppose I did want it. How could I get it?"
"You could purchase the other bonds, and at the termination of the receivership the paper would revert to you, unless you chose to sell."
"How long would that take?"
"About eighteen months."
"And if I wanted it immediately?"