Trench looked at him keenly. “You didn’t come here this morning to tell me that,� he said. “Come, Mr. Eaton, what is it?�
“No,� said Jacob, still smiling, “I didn’t come for that, you’re right. I came to make a business proposition.�
There was a pause, and Trench made no reply. Jacob began to find, instead, that his silence was a peculiar and compelling weapon.
“You have made me the butt of your speeches,� he continued, with his first touch of anger, “and your attacks are chiefly aimed at the Land Company of which I am the president. I suppose you are fully aware of this?�
Caleb smiled involuntarily. “I could not be unaware,� he observed.
“Then, perhaps, you are not unaware of what I came for,� Jacob said.
“Possibly,� replied Trench, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall, and studying Eaton with a coolly indifferent scrutiny that brought the color to Jacob’s face.
“Ah, you have probably been expecting my visit?� he said; “in other words, I suppose you’ve had an object in stirring up this excitement, in directing this attack upon me.�
“I have undoubtedly had an object,� Caleb Trench replied, after a moment’s silence.
Jacob’s smile was a sneer. “We’re business men, Mr. Trench,� he said; “I’m here this morning to know the size of that object.�