Carmella Commands
“And he wouldn’t sell for five thousand?”
“No, sir!”
“Why not?”
“Because I told him not to.”
“Oh!” said Mr. Barrington, drawling the word in perplexity. “Why did you tell him that?”
“Because I’ve got as much right to that pearl necklace as your wife has, if you want to know.”
“Su-weet Jerusalem!” Mr. Barrington’s subconscious self was talking now. By sheer atomic strength he forced himself back to conscious thought.
“And what will he sell for now?”
“I don’t know, sir,” said Carmella, her knees quivering. “He said seven thousand then. But he didn’t know about the bus line and the annexation.”
“Damn the kid!” exclaimed Mr. Barrington under his breath.
“Don’t they make it worth more, Mr. Barrington?”
“Yes, Kate, they do.”
(“I’ll be a sport with this kid if I lose ten thousand,” said the realtor to himself.)
“Well, Mr. Barrington, I heard Mr. Richmond tell Mr. Hastings that you’d pay twice what it was worth to get dad’s land,” said Carmella.
“Oh, did you?” (Trouble loomed for Mr. Richmond in the near future.) He went on:
“And what do you think the land is worth, Kate?”
“Dad was going to hold it for four thousand, and twice that is eight thousand,” said Carmella.
[94]
