“Then why not accept it?”
“Because, if I were certain that I wanted to sell, I could not accept any offer just now.”
“Why not? See here! are you afraid the town will be sore because the road is closed?”
“It would be a great inconvenience to them.”
“It's a greater one to me as it is. Can you afford to be a philanthropist? Are you one of those public-spirited citizens we read about?”
He was sneering now, and my anger, which had lessened somewhat when he spoke of his wife's ill health, was rising again.
“Are you?” he repeated.
“I don't know as to that. But, as I said a while ago, Mr. Colton, I couldn't sell that land to you now.”
“Why not?”
“Because, if there were no other reason, I promised not to sell it without telling another person first.”