"I intended to come to you about that."

"Well?"

"I ain't going on with our agreement."

Simmons' face exhibited not a trace of concern.

"I may say," he returned smoothly, "that I am
not completely surprised. I have been looking for
something of the kind. I must remind you that our
partnership is a legal and binding instrument; you
can't break it, nor throw aside your responsibility,
with a few words. It will be an expensive business
for you."

"I'm willing to pay with what I've got."

The other held up a palm in his familiar, arresting
gesture. "Nothing of that magnitude; nothing
out of the way; I only wanted to remind you
that a compensation should follow your decision.
It puts me in a very nice position indeed. I gather
from your refusal to continue the partnership that
you do not intend to execute singly the original plan;
it is possible that you will not hold the options
against the coming of transportation."

"You've got her," Gordon declared; "I'm not
going to profit seventy times over, tie up all that
timber, from the ignorance of men that ought to
rightly advantage from it. I -- I--" Gordon rose
to his feet in the harassing obscurity of his need;
"I don't want to make! I don't want to take anything
...never again! I want--"

[[323]]

p322 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p323w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p324

v?