H., depend upon it."
"Well, there is nothing for it," said Z, who, in spite of his age, was the
most impulsive of the three. "We must buy Ballymolloy ourselves, with his
twenty men."
"I think that would be a mistake," said the president.
"Do you?" said Z. "What do you say?" he asked, turning to Y.
"Nothing," replied Y.
"Then we will argue it, I suppose," said Z.
"Certainly," said the president. "I will begin." He settled himself in his
chair and knocked the ashes from his cigar.
"I will begin by stating the exact position," he said. "In the first place
this whole affair is accidental, resulting from the death of the junior
senator. No one could foresee this event. We had arranged to put in John
Harrington at the regular vacancy next year, and we are now very busy with
a most important business here in London. If we were on the spot, as one
of us could have been had we known that the senator would die, it would
have been another matter. This thing will be settled by next Saturday at
the latest, but probably earlier.
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