His answer came as clear, quick, and sharp as the click of a revolver: "Perfectly, provided you can do the thing you say."
"It is not necessary," he clicked back. "Do you give me your word that you can?"
"Absolutely."
"I am satisfied. Go on."
"That leaves only three possibilities," I continued. "You buy us; we buy you; or, we consolidate. I will take the third first. Under any circumstances or conditions will you join forces and do business with us?"
"Under no circumstances nor conditions will I do any business with Addicks. He has played me false, broken his word, and lied to me when there was no necessity for doing so, and no man who has done this once can ever do business with me a second time."
I once stood by a mechanism through which passed a strip of metal. Click! 'Twas cut. Whir! 'Twas a cylinder. Click! Whir! Click! A corner, an edge, an end, and b-r-r-rr! It was dropped, a metallic cartridge, to do its part in peace or war. Even more fascinating was it to see this human machine eject the product of its whirring brain.
"Then we have but two possibilities. Will you buy us out at the price we must have?"
"What is the price?"