He crawled out of
the car, taking off his soiled panama to wipe his bald head with a gaudy
silk handkerchief.
"Here, here, Mr. Ralestone," he addressed his companion, "let us have no
unpleasantness. We have merely come here today, sir," he explained to
Rupert, "to see if matters could not be settled amicably without having
to take recourse to a court of law. Your Mr. LeFleur will give us very
little satisfaction, you see. I am a plain and honest man, sir, and I
believe an affair of this kind may be best agreed upon between
principals. My client, Mr. Ralestone, is a reasonable man; he will be
moderate in his demands. It will be to your advantage to listen to our
proposal. After all, you cannot contest his rights--"
"But that is just what I am going to do." Rupert smiled down at them, if
a slight twist of the lips may be called a smile. "Have you ever heard
that old saying that 'possession is nine points of the law'? I am the
Ralestone in residence, and I shall continue to be the Ralestone in
residence until after this case is heard. Now, as I am a busy man and
this is the middle of the morning, I shall have to say good-bye--"
"So that's the way you're going to take it?" The visiting Ralestone
glared at Rupert. "All right. Play it that way and you won't be here a
month from now. Nor," he turned on Val, "this kid brother of yours,
either. You can't pull this lord-of-the-land stuff on me and get away
with it.
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