'
'I see; I understand your position.' Then, lowering his voice, Melville
leaned over towards Longworth, and said: 'You are a man of business. Now,
I want to ask you what would be the chance of our getting the mine at
something like the original option priced which is, of course, very much
less than two hundred thousand pounds? We do not want to have too many in
it. In fact, if you could get it for us at a reasonable rate, and did not
care to be troubled with the property yourself, we would take the whole
ourselves.'
Young Longworth pondered a moment, and then said to Melville:
'Do you mean to freeze out the other two fellows, as they say in
America?'
'I do not know about freezing out; but, of course, with the other two
there is so much less profit to be divided. We should like to deal with
just as few as if possible.'
'Exactly. I see what you mean. I think it can be done. Are you in any
great hurry to secure the mine?'
'Not particularly. Why?'
'Well, if things are worked rightly, I don't know but what we could get
it for the original option. That would mean, of course, to wait until
this first option had run out.'
'Wouldn't there be a little danger in that? They may form their company
in the meantime, and then we should lose everything. Our interest in the
matter is as much to prevent anyone else getting hold of the mine as to
get it ourselves.'
'I see. I will think it over. I believe it can be done without great
risk; but, of course, we shall have to be reasonably quiet about the
matter.
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