She knew finality when she heard it and didn’t press it any more. Instead, she said, ‘Can I come with you when you do the survey?’
‘Why not? It’s your land,’ I said. ‘You can keep a close eye on me so I don’t skip the hard bits.’
We arranged to leave early, but in fact we didn’t get away too soon the following morning. To begin with, I overslept which is something I hardly ever do. For the first time in nearly three weeks I slept soundly without dreaming and awoke refreshed but very late. Clare said she hadn’t the heart to wake me and I didn’t put up too much of a protest. That was why we were delayed long enough for unexpected, and unwelcome, visitors to drop from the sky.
I was in my room when I heard the helicopter and saw it settle lightly in the open space at the back. Howard Matterson and Donner got out and I saw Clare go forward to meet them. The rotor swished to a stop and the pilot dropped to the ground, so it looked as though Matterson intended to stay for longer than a few minutes.
There seemed to be an argument going on. Howard was jabbering nineteen to the dozen, with Donner putting in his two cents’ worth from time to time, while Clare stood with a stony face and answered monosyllabically. Presently Howard waved at the cabin and Clare shrugged. All three of them moved out of sight and I heard them talking in the big main room.
I hesitated, then decided it was none of my business. Clare knew the score about the lumber on her land and I knew she wouldn’t let Howard get away with anything. I continued to fill my pack.
I could hear the rumble of Howard’s voice, with the lighter, colourless interjections of Donner. Clare appeared to be saying little, and I hoped most of it consisted of ‘No.’ Presently there was a tap on the door and she came in. ‘Won’t you join us?’ Her lips were compressed and the pink spots on her cheeks were danger signals I had seen before.
I followed her into the main room and Howard scowled and reddened when he saw me. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he demanded.
‘What’s it to you?’ Clare asked. She indicated Donner. ‘You’ve brought your tame accountant. This is my adviser.’ She turned to me. ‘They’ve doubled their offer,’ she said in an acid voice. ‘They’re offering half a million dollars for the total felling rights on five square miles of my land.’
‘Have you put up a counter-offer?’ I asked.
‘Five million dollars.’
I grinned at her. ‘Be reasonable, Clare: the Mattersons wouldn’t make a profit out of that. Now, I’m not suggesting you split the difference, but I think that if you subtracted their offer from yours there might be a basis for a sale. Four and a half million bucks.’
‘Ridiculous,’ said Donner.
I swung on him. ‘What’s ridiculous about it? You know you’re trying to pull a fast one.’
‘You keep out of this.’ Howard was fuming.
‘I’m here by invitation, Howard,’ I said. ‘Which is more than you are. Sorry to have spoiled your con game, but there it is. You know this land hasn’t been cut over for twelve years and you know the amount of mature timber that’s ready for the taking. Some of those big trees would go nicely in the mill, wouldn’t they? I think it’s a reasonable offer, and my advice to you is to take it or leave it.’
‘By God, we’ll leave it,’ he said tightly. ‘Come on, Donner.’
I laughed. ‘Your father isn’t going to like that. He’ll have your guts for garters, Howard. I doubt if he ever ruined a deal by being too greedy.’
That stopped him. He glanced at Donner, then said, ‘Mind if we have a private conversation?’
‘Go ahead,’ said Clare. ‘There’s plenty of room outside.’
They went out, and Clare said, ‘I hope you’re right.’
‘I’m right, but Howard might be obstinate. I think he’s a man who sets himself on a course and doesn’t deviate. He isn’t flexible, and flexibility is very important to a businessman. I’m afraid he might make a fool of himself.’
‘What do you mean?’
I said, ‘He’s so set on making a killing here that it might blind him to a reasonable deal—and I don’t think Donner can control him. That might bitch things up. Will you leave the dickering to me?’
She smiled. ‘You seem to know what you’re doing.’
‘Maybe. But the biggest deals I’ve made so far have been with used car dealers—I may be out of my league here. I never dickered in millions before.’
‘Neither have I,’ she said. ‘But if what I hear about used car dealers is correct, they’re as tricky to deal with as anyone else. Try to imagine Howard as Clarry Summerskill.’
‘That’s an insult to Clarence,’ I said.
Howard and Donner came back. Howard said heartily, ‘Well, I think we can sort this thing out. I’ll disregard the insults I’ve been offered so far by Boyd and make you a new offer. Clare, I’ll double up again and make it a round million dollars—I can’t say fairer than that.’
She looked at him coldly. ‘Four and a half.’
Donner said in his precise voice, ‘You’re being too rigid, Miss Trinavant.’
‘And you’re being too free and easy,’ I said. I grinned at Howard. ‘I have a proposition. Let’s get Tanner, the Forestry Service man, up here to do an independent valuation. I’m sure Clare will abide by his figure if you will.’
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 t
o 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.’
‘You did more than I could have done. I couldn’t have faced Howard down like that. I’d hate to play poker with you, Bob Boyd. You certainly deserve a negotiator’s fee.’
I hadn’t thought about that. Clare said, ‘Let’s be businesslike about it—you did the job and you get the pay. What about twenty per cent?’
‘For God’s sake, that’s too much.’ I saw the glint in her eye. ‘Ten per cent.’
‘We’ll split the difference,’ she said. ‘Fifteen per cent—and you’ll take it.’
I took a mouthful of whisky and nearly choked as I realized I had just made myself $600,000.
II
As I have said, we started off late that morning and didn’t get far before we stopped for a bite to eat. The way Clare made a fire, I saw she knew her way around the woods—it was just big enough for its purpose and no bigger, and there was no danger of setting the woods alight. I said, ‘How come Waystrand works for you?’
‘Matthew? He worked for Uncle John. He was a good logger but he had an accident.’
‘He told me about that,’ I said.
‘He’s had a lot of grief,’ said Clare. ‘His wife died just about the same time; it was cancer, I think. Anyway, he had the boy to bring up, so Uncle John asked him if he’d like to work around the house—the house in Lakeside. He couldn’t work as a logger any more, you see.’
I nodded. ‘And you took him over, more or less?’
‘That’s right. He looks after the cabin while I’m away.’ She frowned. ‘I’m sorry about young Jimmy, though; he’s gone wild. He and his father had a dreadful quarrel about something, and Jimmy went to work for the Matterson Corporation.’
I said, ‘I think that’s what the quarrel was about. The job was a pay-off to Jimmy for blowing the gaff about me to Howard.’
She coloured. ‘You mean about that night in the cabin?’
I said, ‘I owe Jimmy something for that—and for something else.’ I told her of the wild ride down the Kinoxi road sandwiched between the logging trucks.
‘You could have been killed!’ she said.
‘True, but it would have been written off as an accident.’ I grinned. ‘Old Bull paid up like a gentleman, though. I’ve got a jeep now.’
I got out the geological maps of the area and explained what I was going to do. She cottoned on fast, and said, ‘It’s not so different from figuring out where to dig for archaeological remains; it’s just that the signs are different.’
I nodded in agreement. ‘This area is called the Rocky Mountain Trench. It’s a geological fault caused by large-scale continental movement. It doesn’t move so as you’d notice, though; it’s one of these long-term things. Anyway, in a trench things tend to get churned to the surface and we may find something, even though there was nothing on the Matterson land. I think we’ll go right to the head of the valley.’
It wasn’t far, not more than ten miles, but we were bushed by the time we got there. I hadn’t found anything on the way but I didn’t expect to; we had struck in pretty much of a direct line and would do the main explor
ation going downhill on the way back, zig-zagging from one side of the valley to the other. It’s easier that way.
By the time we made camp it was dark. There was no moon and the only light came from the fire which crackled cheerily and shed a pleasant glow. Beyond the fire was a big black nothing away down the valley which I knew was an ocean of trees—Douglas fir, spruce, hemlock, western red cedar—all commercially valuable. I said, ‘How much land have you got here?’
‘Nearly ten thousand acres,’ said Clare. ‘Uncle John left it to me.’
‘It might pay you to set up your own small sawmill,’ I said. ‘You have a lot of ripe timber here which needs cutting out.’
‘I’d have to haul out the lumber across Matterson land,’ she said. ‘It’s not economical to go the long way round. I’ll think about it.’
I let her attend to the cooking while I cut spruce boughs for the beds, one on each side of the fire. She ministered to the fire and the pans deftly with hardly a waste movement, and I could see I couldn’t teach her anything about that department. Soon the savoury scent of hash floated up and she called, ‘Come and get it.’
As she gave me a plateful of hash she smiled. ‘Not as good as the duck you served me.’
‘This is fine,’ I said. ‘Maybe we’ll get some fresh meat tomorrow, though.’
We ate and talked quietly, and had coffee. Clare felt in her pack and produced a flask. ‘Like a drink?’
I hesitated. I wasn’t used to drinking when out in the woods; not out of any high principles, but the amount of liquor you can hump in a pack doesn’t go very far, so I never bothered to carry any at all. Still, on a day when a guy can make $600,000 anything can happen, so I said, ‘One jigger would go down well.’
It was a nice night. Even in summer you don’t get many warm nights in the North-East Interior of British Columbia, but this was one of them—a soft and balmy night with the stars veiled in a haze of cloud. I sipped the whisky, and what with the smell of the wood-smoke and the peaty taste of the Scotch on my tongue I felt relaxed and at ease. Maybe the fact that I had a girl next to me had something to do with it, too; you don’t meet many of those in the places I’d been accustomed to camping and when you did they had flat noses, broad cheekbones, blackened teeth and stank of rancid oil—delightful to other Eskimos but no attraction to me.
High Citadel / Landslide Page 47