"What figure did you pay for the land?"
"That is hardly a fair question."
"What do you ask for your options? That's a fair question, isn't it?"
"They're not for sale."
"But we may make an offer. It might be profitable for your principals to
sell. My clients feel they need this property, lying as it does between
their holdings."
"I'll listen."
There followed whispered arguments among the three, resulting in an
offer of a dollar and seventy-five cents an acre for the whole
tract--exactly what Johnnie had agreed to pay.
"I said I'd listen," said Johnnie, "but I don't seem to hear anything."
Another conference and a bid of two dollars. Johnnie shrugged his
shoulders. Two dollars and a half an acre was finally offered, and then
Johnnie leaned forward and tapped with his finger on his desk. "If you
gentlemen mean business, let's talk business. I've got what you want.
You can't get it unless I want to sell, and I don't want to sell. I and
my clients know what that timber is worth to us, but any business man
will consider a quick profit if it is _enough_ profit. In five years
that timber will be worth five or six dollars standing; in fifteen years
it will be worth fifteen to twenty.
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