“Hum.... Yes, yes. Well, here's my advice, Miss Phipps: If I were you—if I were you, I say, and he came to me and wanted to buy, I shouldn't be in too big a hurry to sell. Not in too big a hurry, I shouldn't.”
“Why not?”
He glanced at her quickly. “Oh, he HAS been to see you about buying your shares, then?” he suggested.
She shook her head. “I didn't say he had,” she replied. “I just asked why I shouldn't sell if he wanted to buy, that's all. Why shouldn't I?”
He seemed more embarrassed and a trifle irritated.
“Why—why—Oh, well, I suppose you should, perhaps, if he offers you enough. But I wish you wouldn't until—until—Well, couldn't you let me know before you give him his answer? Would you mind doing that?”
And now she looked keenly at him. “What would I gain by that?” she asked. “YOU aren't thinkin' of buyin' more of that stock, are you? The other time when we talked, you told me the Trust Company had all they cared to own and were keepin' it because they had to. I would have been glad—yes, awfully glad, to sell you my shares. But you wouldn't even consider buyin'. Do you want to buy now?”
He frowned. “I don't know what I want,” he said, impatiently. “Except that the one thing we want to find out is why Pulcifer is buying. The Trust Company holds a big block of that stock and—and if there is anything up we want to know of it.”
“What do you mean by 'anything up'?”
“Oh, I mean if some other people are trying to get—er—into the thing. Of course, it isn't likely, but—”