The attorney glanced through the documents in a preliminary way.
"I see the first big payment falls due on April 1st," he remarked.
"Yes, April 1st," responded Thurston, "and I was a damned fool, too, to let that Trust Company fellow inveigle me into making the date April 1st, instead of March 1st. You see," he went on, "the taxes come due on March 1st, and on this principality they amount to quite a pretty figure, I can tell you."
The lawyer again read the papers through, this time more carefully.
"Well, Mr. Thurston," he said, as he lighted a cigar and sat back in his chair, "I left some very important matters to come to you in answer to your imperative message. What's the work in hand?"
"Why, this option for one thing; and then, too, I want you to help me put the noose around the neck of that scoundrel who killed my son."
"We'll take one thing at a time, please," replied the attorney, speaking slowly and quietly. "So far as this option on the rancho is concerned, it seems to be quite regular. Nevertheless, five million dollars is a whole lot of money. Is there any danger of their forfeiting their option payment of $100,000?"
"Danger? Forfeiting?" ejaculated Ben Thurston. "Well, I'm not at all afraid of that. My fear now is that they may take up the option."
"Yes, but I am not getting money enough. The ranch is really worth ten million dollars today, in cold cash. I have recently had some San Francisco capitalists down here appraising it for me, but I had already given the option."
"I see that the agreement provides for your cattle and horses going in at the stipulated price."
"Yes, I don't know why I should have been so infernally stupid. But you see those Los Angeles fellows came over here one day in an automobile and stayed all night. We had a sort of a tiff--didn't agree very well--and I let them start away the next morning without their breakfast--rather uncivil, I'll admit. After they had gone I got to thinking matters over, and I sent a telephone message along the road to stop them and ask them to come back. They returned all right. There was one of their number, this fellow from some Title and Trust Company, who was pretty warm under the collar, and, if I do say it myself, was as peeved as hell at me. Well, he was the one who drew up the agreement, sitting here at this table. The paper looked all right to me, and so I just went ahead and signed. I know now they caught me for the $18,000 of taxes because I didn't just insist on having the option expire March 1st, instead of April 1st. But, to be frank with you, I really didn't much mind, for at that time I was only keen to get their $100,000 for the option, never believing for a moment that they would come across with the million-dollar first payment due April 1st. You see the cattle and horses and all the stock on the ranch was a sort of sheaf of oats that I hung out in order to get them to put up their option money--just so much bait."