Thorpe's chin burrowed still deeper upon his breast. “It's an outrage,” he said with feeling. Then he added, in tones of dejected resignation: “When will you want it?”
“At the moment when the payments of Rostocker and Aronson are made to you, or to your bankers or agents,” Lord Plowden replied, with prepared facility. He had evidently given much thought to this part of the proceedings. “And of course I shall expect you to draw up now an agreement to that effect. I happen to have a stamped paper with me this time. And if you don't mind, we will have it properly witnessed--this time.”
Thorpe looked at him with a disconcertingly leaden stare, the while he thought over what had been proposed. “That's right enough,” he announced at last, “but I shall expect you to do some writing too. Since we're dealing on this basis, there must be no doubt about the guarantee that you will perform your part of the contract.”
“The performance itself, since payment is conditional upon it--” began Plowden, but the other interrupted him.
“No, I want something better than that. Here--give me your stamped paper.” He took the bluish sheet, and, without hesitation, wrote several lines rapidly. “Here--this is my promise,” he said, “to pay you 150,000 pounds, upon your satisfactory performance of a certain undertaking to be separately nominated in a document called 'A,' which we will jointly draw up and agree to and sign, and deposit wherever you like--for safe keeping. Now, if you'll sit here, and write out for me a similar thing--that in consideration of my promise of 150,000 pounds, you covenant to perform the undertaking to be nominated in the document 'A'--and so on.”
Lord Plowden treated as a matter of course the ready and business-like suggestion of the other. Taking his place at the desk in turn, he wrote out what had been suggested. Thorpe touched a bell, and the clerk who came in perfunctorily attested the signatures upon both papers. Each principal folded and pocketed the pledge of the other.
“Now,” said Thorpe, when he had seated himself again at the desk, “we are all right so far as protection against each other goes. If you don't mind, I will draw up a suggestion of what the separate document 'A' should set forth. If you don't like it, you can write one.”
