"
"Eh?" gasped Mr. Bascomb, plainly taken aback.
"Oh, we're not millionaires," Tom laughed easily. "Yet I fancy Hazelton
and I could raise enough money to fight any breach-of-contract case in
court. With a steady-paying mine, you know, we could even discount to
some extent the earnings of future years."
"Oh, well, we don't want hard feelings," urged Mr. Bascomb, his manner
becoming more peaceable. "The plain truth is, Reade, that we're utterly
dissatisfied with your way of managing things here. When you know how the
Melliston Company feels toward you, you don't want to be impudent enough to
insist on hanging on, do you?"
"I am certain that I speak for my partner, sir, when I state that we won't
drop the contract until we have fulfilled it," Tom muttered, coolly, but
with great firmness.
"What's all this dispute about anyway, Bascomb?" a voice called cheerily
from the hallway.
"Oh, it's you, is it, Prenter?" asked Mr. Bascomb, turning and not looking
overjoyed at the interruption.
Simon F. Prenter was treasurer of the Melliston Company. Tom had met him
at the time of signing the engineers' contract with the company. Now Reade
sprang up to place a chair for the new arrival.
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