\"Butthatisn’tlegalnorbusiness。Andyoucouldn’tevenholdtheDitchCompanytoitifTHEYchosetobackout。\"
\"ButIdon’tthinktheywill，\"saidBarkersimply。\"Andyouseemywordwasn’tgivenentirelytoTHEM。Iboughtthethingthroughmywife’scousin，HenrySpring，abroker，andhemakessomethingbyit，fromthecompany，oncommission。AndIcan’tgobackonHIM。
Whatdidyousay？\"
Stacyhadonlygroanedthroughhissetteeth。\"Nothing，\"hesaidbriefly，\"exceptthatI’mcoming，asIsaidbefore，todinewithyouto-night；butnomoreBUSINESS。I’veenoughofthatwithothers，andtherearesomewaitingformeintheouterofficenow。\"
Barkerroseatonce，butwiththesameaffectionatesmileandtendergravityofcountenance，andlaidhishandcaressinglyonStacy’sshoulder。\"It’slikeyoutogiveupsomuchofyourtimetomeandmyfoolishnessandbesofrankwithme。AndIknowit’smightyroughonyoutohavetobeameremachineinsteadofJimStacy。Don’tyoubotheraboutme。I’llsellsomeofmyWideWestExtensionandpullthethingthroughmyself。It’sallright，butI’msorryforyou，oldchap。\"Heglancedaroundtheroomatthewallsandrichpaneling，andadded，\"Isupposethat’swhatyouhavetopayforallthissortofthing？\"