I want your railroad."
"So I jedged," said Scattergood.
"I _need_ it. I'll pay you a profit of fifty thousand--and that's my
last word."
Scattergood closed his eyes, opened them again, and sat erect. "Now that
business is over with," he said, "better come up and set down to table
with Mandy and me. Mandy's cookin' is considered some better 'n at the
hotel."
"You refuse?"
"I was wonderin'," said Scattergood, "if you had any notion if I could
buy the Goodhue timber reasonable?"
"Eh?" said Mr. Castle, startled. "The Goodhue timber?"
"Back of Tupper Falls."
"Who told--" Mr. Castle snapped his teeth together sharply.
"Leetle bird," said Scattergood. "Dinner's ready."
"There might come a time when you'd be mighty glad to sell for less than
I'm offering."
"Once there was a boy," said Scattergood, "and he up and says to another
boy, 'I kin lick you,' The story come to me that the boy sort of
overestimated his weight.'"
"I'm not threatening you," said Castle.
"It's a privilege I don't deny to nobody.... Say, Mr. Castle, be you
goin' into this deal to make money or to take somebody's scalp?"
"Baines," said Mr.
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