"Nothing doing, young man. Absolutely not. How much equipment would you need to start?"
"Oh, a big copper kettle and a lot of copper tubing, and a stock of wine for the raw material. It wouldn't have to be good wine. And I could get started quicker with a couple of men to help me."
"I'm afraid it's too much of a gamble. I'm sorry."
"Look here, Thomasus, if I show you how you can halve the time it takes you to do your accounts, would you be interested?"
"You mean you're a mathematical genius or something?"
"No, but I have a system I can teach your clerks."
Thomasus closed his eyes like some Levantine Buddha. "Well—if you don't want more than fifty solidi—"
"All business is a gamble, you know."
"That's the trouble with it. But—I'll do it, if your accounting system is as good as you say it is."
"How about interest?" asked Padway.