“What will you say?”
“You’ll find out—the day you vote as I tell you to.”
Sam’s expression was growing more belligerent. “Zorn, you’re a miserable skunk, but you’ve trapped yourself. You’ve owned up you practically lied about us. When I tell that to folks——”
“Tell, and be hanged! What good will it do you? Nobody’ll believe you!”
“But you said it!”
At that Zorn laughed. “Ho, ho! Parker, you’re a mark, you’re easy! Where’ll be your witnesses?”
“You mean, you’ll deny it?”
“Sure! That’s the advantage of having nobody else around when you’re talking confidentially.”
Sam gasped. Here was a standard of conduct which was new to him. “You—you——”
“Oh, I wasn’t born yesterday,” Zorn interposed. “I know when to make speeches to a crowd, and when to take ’em one at a time. Nobody has heard what I’ve told you to-day; you can’t bring witnesses. My word is as good as yours—no; better. I haven’t got the school down on me. But that’s not the first question, which is, will you do business?”