“—the keenest admiration for him, and I hate to see his son mixed up with a swindler and fake inventor like Priest. Why, my boy, what few things there are that’re good about Priest’s tetrahedral are stolen! Stolen from other devices that are patented. Mr. Priest will land in jail inside of one week—”
“That’s another lie,” Hike remarked.
“It is, eh? Well, do you want to go to jail with him? Er no, I’ve got something better for you. Now listen.” Mr. Jolls made his voice to be very soft and purring. “If you’ll just sit down and write a little note like this, I’ll give you a thousand dollars—in coin. Write like this: ‘My dear Mr. Priest: I have decided that the tetrahedral is taking up too much of my time, and I shall have to drop it. You can run the thing yourself. Also, I know that you have stolen all your patents, and I don’t want anything to do with you, or your thefts, I might add.’
“Now a note like that won’t hurt anything—you must see that yourself—if he hasn’t stolen them; and, if he has, why it will be only just. If the cap fits, let him put it on.”
“Sure,” Hike could be heard sniffing, “it won’t hurt him—merely break his heart—just when he’s getting over the feeling that the whole world is conspiring against him. He’s pretty fond of me. All that note will do will be to send him out into the mountains again, and probably make him give up the game entirely.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Jolls snarled, the politeness in his nasty voice wearing very thin. “That isn’t the only way we’re going to get at your precious Priest. There’s plenty of other strings that we’re pulling, already. Your note won’t be more than a drop in the bucket. It won’t hurt Priest a quarter so much as some of the other things we’re going to do. Don’t let that hurt your sweet young conscience. You might just as well take the thousand dollars I’m giving you, and be easy.
“Think, son, just think of the things you can do with that thousand.” Jolls’ voice was soft again, in there. “Why, you can make aeroplane experiments of your own. See here. I haven’t stated the other side, yet. If you don’t write that note, there’ll be two less boys by to-morrow night—not only you, but your young friend Torrington Darby—what is it you call him? Poodle, is it? I won’t tell you what will happen to him, except that we have him in a trap, too. But as for you—”
“You make me tired,” Hike could be heard yawning, apparently not much impressed.
“I’ll make you much tireder before I get through with you if you don’t write this note,” Jolls roared. “Look here. You ought to know, by this time, after the way you were brought here, and the way you’re guarded, that I can do whatever I want to with you. I might as well admit that I won’t stop short of anything, to land this contract for aeroplanes. I’m going to have it, and if you think a brat like you can put any hindrances in my way, you might just as well get over that idea right now! You might as well take this thousand dollars that I’m simply giving you, and be easy.
“And if you don’t write that note, let me tell you what will happen to you. I’ll let you have till to-morrow to make up your mind. If you won’t write this note—which I’ll telegraph to your dear friend Priest, signed with your name, in any case, whether you write it or not, so you might just as well—”