Десмонд Бэгли - Landslide

I hadn’t any fear that Matterson would go for that, and he didn’t. His voice sounded like the breaking of ice-floes. ‘There’s no need to waste time on fooleries. The dam is nearly finished — we close the sluices in two weeks. In less than four months this land will be flooded and we have to get the lumber out before then. That’s cutting things very fine and it’ll take every man I’ve got to do it in time — even if we start now.’

‘So make a deal now,’ I said. ‘Come up with a sensible offer.’

He gave me a look of intense dislike. ‘Can’t we be reasonable, Clare?’ he pleaded. ‘Can’t we talk without this character butting in?’

‘I think Bob’s doing all right,’ she said.

Donner said quickly, ‘A million and a half.’

‘Four and a half,’ said Clare stolidly.

Howard made a noise expressive of disgust, and Donner said, ‘We keep coming up, Miss Trinavant, but you make no effort to meet us.’

‘That’s because I know the value of what I’ve got.’

I said, ‘All right, Donner; we’ll come down to meet you. Let’s say four and a quarter. What’s your counter-offer?’

‘For Christ’s sake!’ said Howard. ‘Has he the right to negotiate on your behalf, Clare?’

She looked him in the eye. ‘Yes.’

‘To hell with that,’ he said. ‘I’m not dealing with a brokendown geologist who hasn’t two cents to rub together.’

‘Then the deal’s off,’ she said, and stood up. ‘If you’ll excuse us, we have work to do.’ I never admired her more than I did then; she was putting all her faith in the negotiating ability of a man she hardly knew. But it sure made me sweat.

Donner cut in quickly, ‘Let’s not be hasty.’ He nudged Howard. ‘Something can be worked out here. You asked me for my counter-offer, Boyd. Here it is: two million dollars flat — and not a cent more.’

Donner appeared quite calm but Howard was ready to go off pop. He had come here expecting to get a five-milliondollar property for a mere half-million, and now it was his turn to be squeezed he didn’t like it one little bit. But for a moment I wondered if I was making a mistake. My estimate was on my own assessment — which could be wrong because I wasn’t a lumberman — and on the word of old Waystrand, a man who did chores around the house.

I felt sweat trickling down my back as I said, ‘Nothing doing.’

Howard exploded. ‘All right,’ he shouted. ‘That’s an end to it. Let’s get the hell out of here, Donner. You’ve a fool for an adviser, Clare. Boyd couldn’t advise a man lost in the desert how to take a drink of water. If you want to take up our final offer, you know where to find me.’

He started to walk out. I glanced at Donner, who obviously didn’t want to leave, and I knew I was right, after all. Donner was ready to carry on wheeling and dealing, so therefore he was ready to make another offer; but he’d lost control of Howard as I knew he would. Howard, lost in his rage, wouldn’t let him continue, and what I had been afraid of was about to happen.

I said, ‘Now is the time to separate the men from the boys. Get old Waystrand in here, Clare.’

She looked at me in surprise, but obediently went outside and 1 heard her calling for him. Howard also stopped and looked at me uncertainly, fidgeting on one leg; and Donner eyed me speculatively.

Clare came back, and I said, ‘I warned you, Howard, that your old man wouldn’t like this. If you pass up a good deal in which you can make a damned good profit I don’t think he’ll let you stay as boss of the Matterson Corporation. What do you say, Donner?’

Donner smiled thinly. ‘What would you expect me to say?’

I said to Clare, ‘Get pen and paper. Write a formal letter to Bull Matterson offering him the felling rights for four and a quarter million. He’ll beat you down to four and still make a cool million bucks profit. And tell him you’d rather deal with a man, not a boy. Waystrand can take the letter today.’

Clare went to the writing-desk and sat down. I thought Howard was going to take a swing at me but Donner tugged at his coat and drew him back. They both retreated and Donner whispered urgently. I had a good idea of what he was saying, too. If that letter was ever delivered to old Bull it would be an admission on Howard’s part that he’d fallen down on a big job. Already, from what I had seen, the old man held him in contempt and had even given him Donner as a nursemaid. Bull Matterson would never forgive his son for putting a million dollars in jeopardy.

Waystrand came in and Clare looked up. ‘I want you to take a letter into Fort Farrell, Matthew.’

The whispering across the room rose to a sibilant crescendo and finally Howard shrugged. Donner said urgently, ‘Wait a minute, Miss Trinavant.’ He addressed me directly and there was no suggestion that I was not empowered to negotiate. ‘Did you mean that, Boyd — that you’d take four million dollars?’

‘Miss Trinavant will,’ I said.

His lips tightened momentarily. ‘All right. I’m empowered to agree.’ He took a contract form from his pocket. ‘All we need to do is to fill in the amount and get Miss Trinavant’s witnessed signature.’

‘I don’t sign anything before my lawyer checks it,’ she said coolly. ‘You’ll have to wait on that.’

Donner nodded. He didn’t expect anything else; he was a legalist himself and that was the way his own mind worked. ‘As soon as possible, please.’ He pulled out a pen and filled in a blank space in the middle of the contract, then pushed the pen into Howard’s hand. Howard hesitated, and Donner said drily, ‘Sign — you’d better.’

Howard’s lips tightened, then he dashed off his signature. He straightened up and pointed a trembling finger at me. ‘Watch it, Boyd — just watch it, that’s all. You’ll never do this to me again — ever.’

I smiled. ‘If it’s any consolation, Howard, you never had a chance. We had you whipsawed from the beginning. First, we knew exactly what we had, and, second, I had quite a job talking Clare round into selling; she didn’t care if she sold or not, and that’s a hell of a bargaining advantage. But you wanted it — you had to have it. Your old man would never let you pass it up.’

Donner said, ‘You all see that I witness Mr Matterson’s signature.’ He signed the contract and dropped it on the table. ‘I think that’s all.’

Howard swung on his heel and left without another word, and Donner followed him. Clare slowly tore into fragments the letter she had written, and looked up at Waystrand. ‘You won’t have to go into Fort Farrell after all, Matthew.’

Waystrand shuffled his feet and cracked a slow grin. ‘Looks like you’re being looked after all right, Miss Clare.’ He gave me a friendly nod and left.

My legs felt weak so I sat down. Clare said practically, ‘You look as though you need a drink.’ She went over to the cabinet and brought back a slug of Scotch big enough to kill an elephant. ‘Thanks, Bob.’

‘I never thought we’d do it,’ I said. ‘I thought I was going to blow the whole thing. When Howard started to leave...’ I shook my head.

‘You blackmailed him,’ she said. ‘He’s scared to death of his father and you used that to blackmail him.’

‘He had it coming — he tried to give you a hell of a raw deal. Old Bull will never know it, though; and he’ll be happy with his million bucks.’ I looked up at her. ‘What are you going to do with your four million?’

She laughed. ‘I’ll be able to organize my own digs now — I’ve never been able to afford it before. But first I want to take care of you. I didn’t like Howard’s crack about a broken-down geologist.’

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘I didn’t do that much.’