III-XIII

Even if he proved able to buy out Simmons,
he thought walking home, it would be a
delicate operation to return the timber
rights to where he thought they belonged. He
considered the possibility of making a gift of the
options to the men from whom they had been wrongfully
obtained. But something of Simmons' shrewd
knowledge of the world, something of the priest's
contemptuous arraignment of material values, lingering
in Gordon's mind, convinced him of the potential
folly of that course. It would be more practical
to sell back the options to those from which
they had been purchased at the nominal prices paid.
He had only a vague idea of his balances at the
Stenton banks, the possibilities of the investments
from which he received profit. He was certain,
however, that the sum asked by Valentine Simmons
would obliterate his present resources. Yet he was
forced to admit that it did not seem exorbitant.

He continued his altruistic deliberations throughout
the evening at his dwelling. It might be well,
before investing such a paramount sum, to com-

[[326]]

p325 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p326w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p327

v?