\"Tellhimtocallatmyhousenexttimeyouseehim。Andforheaven’ssaketellhimtocometotheservants’door。Don’tyoupeopledownherehaveanyservants’doorstoyourhouses?Therehavebeennolessthanfiftypeddlersonmyporchsinceyesterdayandmybutlerwilldieofapoplexyifitkeepson。He’sagoodone,forawonder,andIdon’twanttolosehim。\"
Imadenoreplytothisobservationandhedidnotseemtoexpectany。HewatchedZebrakeforamomentandthenheturnedbacktome。
\"Canyoucomeovertomyhousenow?\"heasked。
IwasnotexpectingthisandagainIdidnothaveananswerready。
\"Canyou?\"hewenton。\"I’vegotabusinessdealtomakewithyouandI’drathermakeitthere。I’vegotalotofcarpentersandpaintersatworkandtheyaskmetenquestionsaminute。TheyareunnecessaryquestionsbutifIdon’tanswerthemthefellowsaresuretomakesomefoolmistakeorother。Theyneedagoverness。
Ifyou’llcomeoverwithmeI’llbeintouchwiththemandyouandIcantalkjustaswell。Cancome,can’tyou?\"
Ididnotknowwhattosay。Iwantedtosayno,thatifhehadanybusinesswithmeitcouldbediscussedinthatboathouse。Ididnotlikehismanner,yetIhadafeelingthatitwashisusualoneandthathehadnotmeanttoberude。AndIcouldthinkofnogoodreasonfornotgoingwithhim。
\"Youcancome,can’tyou?\"herepeated。
\"IsupposeIcan。But——\"
\"Ofcourseifyou’retoobusytoleave——\"
IrememberedthepositionhehadfoundmeinandIratherthinkI
hadturnedred。Hedidnotsmile,buttherewasasortofgrimtwinkleinhiseyes。
\"I’llcome,\"Isaid。
\"Muchobliged。Iwon’tkeepyoulong。Comeon。\"
HeledthewayandIfollowed,rebellious,andangry,notsomuchwithhimaswithmyself。IwishednowthatIhadgoneovertotheColtonplacewhenIfirstreceivedthesummonstocourt,insteadofmakingproclamationsofdefiancetomotherandLuteRogers。Thisseemedsuchacompletebackdown。AswepassedthehouseIsawLutepeeringfromthebarn。Idevoutlyhopedhemightnotseeme,buthedid。Hismouthopenedandhestared。Then,catchingmyeye,hewinkedtriumphantly。Iwantedtopunchhishead。
TheKingofNewYorkwalkedbrisklyoninsilenceuntilwewerejustattheedgeofthegrovebytheShoreLane。Thenhestoppedandturnedtome。
\"Youownallthisland,don’tyou?\"heasked。
\"Yes。\"
\"Humph!Getagoodviewfromhere。\"
Iadmittedthattheviewwasgood。Atthatparticularpointitembracednearlythewholeofthebayinfront,andalargeportionofthevillageattheside。
Hewavedhishandtowardtheclusterofhouses。
\"Thereareeighteenhundredpeopleinthistown,theytellme,\"hesaid。\"Permanentresidents,Imean。Whatdotheyalldo?\"
\"Do?\"
\"Yes。Howdotheygetaliving?Theymustgetitsomehow。Intheregularsummerresortstheysqueezeitoutofthecitypeople,I
knowthat。Buttherearen’tsomanycottagersandboardershere。
Whatdoyoualldoforaliving?\"
ItoldhimthatmostofmasculineDenborofishedorfarmedorkeptstore。
\"Whichdoyoudo?\"heasked。\"Yousaidyouweren’taboat—builder。\"
\"I’mnotdoinganythingatpresent,\"Ireplied,shortly。
\"Outofajob?\"
\"Youmightcallitthat。Isthisapartofthebusinessyouwishedtoseemeabout,Mr。Colton?\"
Iwasboilinginwardlyandalittleoftheheatwasexpressedinmytone。Idon’tknowwhetherhetookthehintormerelylostinterestinthesubject。Atanyratehisreplywasabrief\"No,\"
andwecontinuedourwalk。
AswereachedtheShoreLanehepausedagain,andIthoughthewasabouttospeak。Hedidnot,however,andwecrossedtheboundarylineofmypropertyandenteredtheColtongrounds。AswedrewnearertothehouseIwassurprisedtoseehowlargeitwas。WhentheAtwatersowneditIwasanoccasionalcallerthere,foroldMajorAtwaterwasfondofshootingandsometimesborrowedmydecoys。But,sinceitchangedhands,IhadnotbeennearertoitthantheLane。Withthenewwingandtheotheradditionsitwasenormous。Itfairlyreekedofmoney,though,sofarasIwasajudge,thetasteshowninrebuildinganddecoratingwasgood。Weturnedthecorner,whereAsaPeters,theheadcarpenter,camehurryingup。Asalookedsurprisedenoughtoseemeincompanywithhisemployerandregardedmewonderingly。\"Mr。Colton,\"hesaid,\"Iwantedtoaskyouaboutthemskylights。\"Isteppedbackoutofhearing,butIinferredfromColton’sactionsthatthequestionwasanotheroneofthe\"unnecessary\"oneshehadsoscornfullyreferredtointheboathouse。
\"Jackass!\"heexclaimed,asherejoinedme。IjudgedhewasclassifyingAsa,but,ifso,hedidnottroubletolowerhisvoice。
\"Comeon,Paine,\"headded,andwepassedalonglineofwindows,hungwithcostlycurtains,andsteppeduponahandsomeColonialporticobeforetwobigdoors。
Thedoorswereopenedbyanimposingpersonageindarkblueandbrassbuttons,whobowedprofoundlybeforeColtonandregardedmewithcondescendingsuperiority。Thispersonage,whomIrecognized,fromAlvin’sdescription,asthe\"minister—lookin’\"butler,ledusthroughahallaboutaslargeasoursitting—room,dining—roomandkitchencombined,butbearingnootherresemblancetotheseapartments,andopenedanotherdoor,throughwhich,bowingoncemore,heusheredus。Thenheclosedthedoor,leavinghimself,tomyrelief,outside。IthadbeenalongtimesinceIwaswaiteduponbyabutlerandIfoundthisspecimenratheroverpowering。
Theroomwewereinwasthelibrary,and,thoughitwasbiggerandfarmoresumptuousthanthelibraryIrememberedsowellasaboy,thesightofthebooksintheircasesalongthewallsgavemeafeelingalmostofhomesickness。Myresentmentagainstmymillionaireneighborincreased。Whyshouldheandhishaveeverything,andtherestofusbedeprivedofthelittleweoncehad?
Coltonseatedhimselfinaleatherupholsteredchairandwavedhishandtowardanother。
\"Sitdown,\"hesaid。Hetookacigarfromhispocket。\"Smoke?\"heasked。
Iwasaconfirmedsmoker,butIwasnotgoingtosmokeoneofhiscigars——notthen。
\"Nothankyou,\"saidI。Hedidnotcommentonmyrefusal,butlitthecigarhimself,fromthestumpofhisformerone。Thenhecrossedhislegsandproceeded,withcharacteristicabruptness,tohissubject。
\"Paine,\"hebegan,\"youownthislandnexttome,yousay。Yourpropertyendsatthefencethissideofthatroadwejustcrossed,doesn’tit?\"
\"Itendswhereyoursbegins,\"Iannounced。
\"Yes。Justthissideofthatroad。\"
\"OftheShoreLane。Itisn’taroadexactly。\"
\"Idon’tcarewhatyoucallit。Roadorlaneorcow—path。Itendsthere?\"
\"Yes。\"
\"AnditISyourland?Itbelongstoyou,personally,allofit,freeandclear?\"
\"Why——yes;itdoes。\"Icouldnotseewhatbusinessofhismyownershipofthatlandmightbe。
\"Allright。Iaskedthatbecause,ifitwasn’tyours,ifitwastiedupormortgagedinanyway,itmightcomplicatematters。Butitisn’t。\"
\"No。\"
\"Good!Thenwecangetdowntobrasstacksandsavetime。Iwantapieceofthatland。\"
Ilookedathim。
\"Youwant——?\"Irepeated,slowly。
\"Iwantastripofyourland。Wanttobuyit,ofcourse。Idon’texpectyoutogiveittome。What’sitworth,bytheacre,say?\"
Ididnotanswer。AllatonceIwasbeginningtoseealight。
CaptainJedDean’smysteriousconversationatthepost—officewasbeginningtolosesomeofitsmystery。
\"Well?\"askedColton,impatiently。Then,withoutwaitinglonger,headded:
\"Bytheway,beforeyounameafigure,answermeonemorequestion。
Thatroad——orlane,orwhateveritis——thatisyours,too?Doesn’tbelongtothetown?\"
Thelightwasgrowingmorebrilliant。Icouldseebreakersahead。
\"No,\"Ireplied,slowly。\"Itisaprivateway。Itbelongstome。\"
\"Good!Well,what’sthatlandofyoursworthbytheacre?\"
Ishookmyhead。\"Iscarcelyknow,\"Isaid。\"I’veneverfigureditthatway。\"
\"Idon’tcarehowyoufigureit。Here,let’sgetdowntoabusinessproposition。IwanttobuyastripofthatlandfromtheLowerRoad——that’swhatyoucalltheoneabovehere,isn’tit?——tothebeach。ThestripIwantisaboutthreehundredfeetwide,foraguess。Itextendsfrommyfencetotheothersideofthatgrovebythebluff。Whatwillyousellitfor?\"
Thebreakerswerecloseaboard。However,Idodgedthemmomentarily。
\"Whydoyouwanttobuy?\"Iasked。
\"Forreasons。\"
\"Ishouldthinkyouhadlandenoughalready。\"
\"IthoughtIhad,butitseemsIhaven’t。Well,what’syourpriceforthatstrip?\"
\"Mr。Colton,I——I’mafraid——\"
\"Nevermindthat。Isupposeyou’reafraidyou’llmakethepricetoolow。Now,seehere,I’mabusyman。Ihaven’ttimetodoanybargaining。Nameyourpriceand,ifit’sanywherewithinreason,wewon’thaggle。Iexpecttopaymorethananyoneelsewould。
That’spartofmyfineforbeingacitymanandnotanative。Gad!
theprivilegeisworththemoney。I’llpaythefine。What’stheprice?\"
\"Butwhydoyouwanttobuy?\"
\"Forreasonsofmyown,Itellyou。Theyhaven’tanythingtodowithyourselling。\"
\"I’mnotsosure。\"
\"Whatdoyoumeanbythat?\"
\"ThatstriptakesintheShoreLane,Mr。Colton。\"
\"Iknowit。\"
\"And,ifyoubuy,IpresumetheLanewillbeclosed。\"
Helookedatme,surprised,and,Ithought,alittleannoyed。
\"Well?\"hesaid;\"supposeitis?\"
\"Butitwillbe,won’tit?\"
\"Youbetyourlifeitwill!Whatofit?\"
\"ThenIdon’tknowthatIcaretosell。\"
Heleanedbackinhischair。
\"Youdon’tcaretosell!\"herepeated,slowly。\"Whatthedevildoyoumeanbythat?\"
\"WhatIsaid。And,besides,Mr。Colton,I——\"
Heinterruptedme。
\"Whydon’tyoucaretosell?\"hedemanded。\"Thelandisnogoodtoyou,isit?\"
\"Notmuch。No。\"
\"Humph!Areyousorichthatyou’vegotallthemoneyyouwant?\"
Iwasangryallthrough。Irosefrommychair。
\"Goodday,Mr。Colton,\"Isaid。
\"Here!\"heshouted。\"Holdon!Whereareyougoing?\"
\"Ican’tseethatthereisanyuseofourtalkingfurther。\"
\"Nouse?Why——There!there!sitdown。It’snoneofmybusinesshowrichyouare,andIbegyourpardon。Sitdown。Sitdown,man,Itellyou!\"
Isatdown,reluctantly。Hethrewhiscigar,whichhadgoneout,intothefireplaceandlitanother。
\"Say,\"hesaid,\"yousurpriseme,Paine。Whatdoyoumeanbysayingyouwon’tsellthatland?Youdon’tknowwhatI’llpayforityet。\"
\"No,Idon’t。\"
\"Thenhowdoyouknowyouwon’tsellit?Ineverhadanythingyet——
exceptmywifeandfamily——thatIwouldn’tsellforaprice。Lookhere!Ihaven’tgottimetodoanyDown—Easthorse—jockeying。I’llmakeyouanoffer。I’llgiveyoufivehundreddollarscashforthatstripofland。Whatdoyousay?\"
Ididn’tsayanything。Fivehundreddollarswasagenerousoffer。
Icouldn’thelpthinkingwhatMotherandImightdowiththatfivehundreddollars。
\"Whatdoyousay?\"herepeated。
Ianswered,Yankeefashion,withanotherquestion。\"Mr。Colton,\"I
asked,\"whydoyouwanttoclosethatShoreLane?\"
\"BecauseIdo。WhatdifferencedoesitmaketoyouwhyIwanttocloseit?\"
\"ThatLanehasbeenusedbyDenboropeopleforyears。Itisalmostapublicnecessity。\"
Hepuffedtwiceonhiscigarbeforehespokeagain。Whenhediditwasinadifferenttone。
\"Isee,\"hesaid。\"Humph!Isee。Paine,doesthetownpayyourentfortheuseofthatroad?\"
\"No。\"
\"Hasitbeenbiddingtobuyit?\"
\"No。\"
\"Isanyoneelseafterit?\"
\"No—o。Ithinknot。But——\"
\"YouTHINKnot。Thatmeansyou’renotsure。You’vehadabitesomewhere。Somebodyhasbeennibblingatyourhook。Well,they’vegottobitequickandswallowsometogetaheadofme。IwantthatroadclosedandI’mgoingtohaveitclosed,soonerorlater。I’dpreferitsooner。\"
\"Butwhydoyouwanttocloseit?\"
Beforehecouldanswertherecameaknockatthedoor。Thebutlerappeared。
\"Ibegyourpardon,sir——\"hebegan。Hismastercuthimshort。
\"Tell’emtowait,\"heordered。\"Ican’tseeanyonenow,Johnson。
Ifitisthatdamnedcarpenterhecanwait。\"
\"Itisn’tthecarpenter,sir,\"explainedJohnson。\"It’sMrs。
Colton,sir。Shewishestoknowifyouhaveboughtthatroad。Shesaysthreeofthose’orridfishcartshavegonebyinthelasthour,sir,andtheyaremakingherverynervous。That’sall,sir。\"
\"TellherI’veboughtit,\"snappedtheheadofthehouse。\"Getout。\"
Thebutlerobeyedorders。Coltonturnedtome。
\"Youheardthat,Paine,\"hesaid。\"That’smyreason,theprincipalone。IboughtthisplaceprincipallyonaccountofMrs。Colton’shealth。Thedoctorssaidsheneededquietandrest。Ithoughtshecouldhavethemhere——Godknowstheplacelookedforsakenenough——
butitappearsshecan’t。WheneversheorIsitontheverandaoratawindowwehavetowatchaprocessionofjaysdrivingsmellyfishcartsthroughthatlaneofyours,orbestaredatbyagangofcountrymenhangingoverthefence。It’sanuisance。Itisbadenoughformeormydaughterandourguests,butitwillbetheruinationofmywife’snerves,andIcan’tstandforthat。YouseethepositionI’min。YouheardwhatItoldthatbutler。IsaidI
hadboughttheroad。Youwouldn’tmakemealiar,wouldyou?I’llgiveyoufivehundredforthatbunchofsand。Youcouldn’tgetmoreforitifyousolditbythepound,liketea。Sayyes,andclosethedeal。\"
Ishookmyhead。
\"Iunderstandyourposition,Mr。Colton,\"Isaid,\"butIcan’tsayyes。Notnow,atanyrate。\"
\"Whynot?Isn’tfivehundredenough?\"
\"It’sagoodoffer。\"
\"Thenwhynotacceptit?\"
\"Because,ifIwerecertainthatIwantedtosell,Icouldnotacceptanyofferjustnow。\"
\"Whynot?Seehere!areyouafraidthetownwillbesorebecausetheroadisclosed?\"
\"Itwouldbeagreatinconveniencetothem。\"
\"It’sagreateronetomeasitis。Canyouaffordtobeaphilanthropist?Areyouoneofthosepublic—spiritedcitizenswereadabout?\"
Hewassneeringnow,andmyanger,whichhadlessenedsomewhatwhenhespokeofhiswife’sillhealth,wasrisingagain。
\"Areyou?\"herepeated。
\"Idon’tknowastothat。But,asIsaidawhileago,Mr。Colton,Icouldn’tsellthatlandtoyounow。\"
\"Whynot?\"
\"Because,iftherewerenootherreason,Ipromisednottosellitwithouttellinganotherpersonfirst。\"
Hethrewdownhiscigarandstoodup。Irosealso。
\"Isee,\"hesaid,withsarcasm。\"Iknewtherewassomethingbesidepublicspirit。Youthink,byhangingoffandplayingmeagainstthisothersucker,youcangetahigherprice。Well,ifthat’sthegame,I’llkeephimbusy。\"
Hetookouthiswatch,glancedatit,andthrustitbackintohispocket。
\"I’vewastedtimeenoughoverthisfoolthing,\"hedeclared。\"NowthatIknowwhatthegameiswe’lltalktothepoint。It’shighwayrobbery,butImighthaveexpectedtoberobbed。I’llgiveyousixhundredforthatland。\"
Ididnotanswer。IwasholdingmytemperbymainstrengthandI
couldnottrustmyselftospeak。
\"Well?\"hesneered。\"Thatshakesyourpublicspiritsome,hey?
Whatdoyousay?\"
\"No,\"Ianswered,andstartedforthedoor。
\"What!\"hecouldhardlybelievehisears。\"BytheLordHarry!thefellowiscrazy。Sixhundredandfiftythen,youinfernalrobber。\"
\"No。\"
\"NO!Say,whatinthunderdoyoumean?\"
\"Imeanthatyoumaygotothedevil,\"Iretorted,andreachedforthedoorknob。
Butbeforemyfingerstouchedittherewasthesoundoflaughterandvoicesinthehall。Theknobwasturnedfromwithout。I
steppedbackandtoonesideinvoluntarily,asthedooropenedandintothelibrarycame,notthebutler,butayounglady,agirlinanautomobilecoatandbonnet。And,followingher,ayoungman。
\"Father,\"saidtheyounglady,\"Johnsonsaysyou’veboughtthathorridroad。I’msoglad!Whendidyoudoit?\"
\"Congratulations,Mr。Colton,\"saidtheyoungman。\"Wejustpassedacartfullofsomething——seaweed,Ibelieveitwas——aswecamealongwiththecar。Oscarhadtoslowdowntosqueezeby,andwecertainlyweresweptbyoceanbreezes。ByJove!Icansmellthemyet。I——\"
Theyoungladyinterruptedhim。
\"Hush,Victor,\"shesaid。\"Ibegyourpardon,Father。Ithoughtyouwerealone。Victor,we’reintruding。\"
Theopendoorhadpartiallyscreenedmefromthenewcomers。ButColton,redandwrathful,hadnotceasedtoglareinmydirectionandshe,followinghisgaze,sawme。Shedidnotrecognizeme,I
think——probablyIhadnotmadesufficientimpressionuponhermindevenforcasualremembrance——butIrecognizedher。Shewasthegirlwiththedarkeyes,whoselookofcontemptuousindifferencehadsowitheredmyself—esteem。Andhercompanionwastheyoungchapwho,fromthetonneauoftheautomobilethatmorning,hadinquiredthewaytoBayport。
Theyoungmanturnedlazily。\"Arewe?\"hesaid。\"I——What!Why,Mabel,it’sthehumorist!\"
Thensherecognizedme。Icouldfeelthebloodclimbingfrommytoestotherootsofmyhair。Iwastooastonishedandchagrinedtospeakorevenmove,thoughIwantedtomoveverymuchindeed。
ShelookedatmeandIather。Thensheturnedcoldlyaway。
\"Come,Victor,\"shesaid。
ButVictorwashisownblaseself。Ittookmorethanatrifletoshakehiscalm。Helaughed。
\"It’sthehumorist,\"herepeated。\"Reuben,howareyou?\"
Coltonregardedthethreeofuswithamazement。
\"What?\"hebegan。\"Mabel,doyou——\"
ButIhadrecoveredmypowersoflocomotion。Iwasonmywayoutofthatlibrary。
\"Here!\"shoutedColton。\"Stop!\"
Ididnotstop。FeelingasIdidatthatmomentitwouldhavebeendistinctlyunpleasantforthepersonwhotriedtostopme。Thegirlwasinmywayand,asIapproached,shedrewherskirtsaside。
Nodoubtitwasmyimaginationwhichmadehermannerofdoingitseemlikeaninsult,but,imaginationorreality,itwastheonethingnecessarytoclenchmyresolution。NowwhenshelookedatmeIreturnedthelookwithinterest。Istrodethroughthedoorwayandacrossthehall。Thebutlerwouldhaveopenedtheouterdoorforme,butIopeneditmyselftotheimminentdangerofhisdignifiednose。AsIsteppedfromtheporticoIheardbehindmearoarfromBigJimColtonandashoutoflaughterfromVictor。
Iwalkedhomeattopspeed。OnlyoncedidIlookback。ThatwasjustasIwasabouttoenterthegroveontheothersideoftheShoreLane。ThenIturnedandsaw,atthebigwindowattheendofthe\"Newportvilla,\"agroupofthreestaringinmydirection:
Colton,hisdaughterandthatcubVictor。Thedistancewastoogreattoseetheexpressionoftheirfaces,butIknewthattwoofthem,atleast,werelaughing——laughingatme。
Ididnotlaugh。
Lutewaswaitingformebythegateandrantomeetme。Hewaswildwithexcitement。
\"Hecameafteryou,didn’the?\"hecried,grabbingatmycoatsleeve。\"Youwentovertohishousewithhim,didn’tyou!IseeyouandatfustIcouldn’tscurcelybelieveit。Whatdidhewant?
Whatdidhesay?\"
Ididnotanswer。Heranalongbesideme,stillclingingtomysleeve。
\"Whatdidhewant?\"herepeated。\"Whatdidhesaytoyou?Whatdidyousaytohim?Tellafeller,can’tyou?\"
\"Itoldhimtogotothedevil,\"Ianswered,savagely。
Luteletgoofmysleeve。
\"You——you——Bytime,you’restarkloony!\"hegasped;andcollapsedagainstthegatepost。
Iwentintothehouse,upthebackstairstomyroom,andshutthedoor。
CHAPTERV
Soshewashisdaughter。Imighthaveguessedit;wouldhaveguesseditifIhadpossessedthecommonestofcommon—sense。I
mighthaveknownthattheautowasColton’s。NoothermachinewaslikelytobetravelingontheLowerRoadatthatseasonoftheyear。ShewastheprettydaughterofwhomDorindahadspokentoMother。Well,shewasprettyenough;evenIhadtoadmitthat。
ButIadmitteditgrudgingly。Ihatedherforherbeautyandfineclothesandhaughtyarrogance。Shewastheincarnationofsnobbishness。
Buttobemadetwiceridiculousevenbytheincarnationofsnobbishnesswasgalling。Shewastobemynext—doorneighbor;wewerelikelytomeetalmostanywhereatanytime。WhenIthoughtofthisandofthetwomeetingswhichhadalreadytakenplaceIsworeattheblueandwhitewater—pitcheronmybureaubecauseitdidnotcontainwaterenoughtodrownme。NotthatIwouldcommitsuicideonheraccount。ShewouldnotcareifIdidandcertainlyIdidnotcarewhethershewouldcareornot;butifIweresatisfactorilydeadIprobablyshouldnotrememberwhatafoolIhadmadeofmyself,orFatehadmadeofme。
WhyhadInotgotoutofthatlibrarybeforeshecame?Oh,ifnot,whyhadn’tIstayedandtoldherfather,inherhearing,andwithdignity,justwhatIthoughtofhimandhisremarkstome?Butno;
Ihadrunaway。She——orthatVictor——wouldtellofthemeetingatthebridge,andallmyindependenceandtherestofitwouldberegardedasofapiecewiththat,justthebig—headed\"smartness\"
ofacountryboor。IntheireyesIwasanuisance,thatwasall。
Adisagreeableone,perhaps,liketheShoreLane,butanuisance,onetolaughatandforget——ifitcouldnotbegottenridof。
WhyhadIgonewithColtonatall?Whyhadn’tIremainedattheboathouseandtheretoldtheKingofNewYorktogotothemischief?orwordstothateffect。ButIhad,atallevents,toldhimthat。InspiteofmychagrinIcouldnothelpchucklingasI
thoughtofit。TotellBigJimColtontogotothedevilwas,initsway,Iimagined,aprivilegeenjoyedbyfew。Itmusthaveshakenhisself—satisfactionatrifle。Well,afterall,whatdidIcare?He,andhiswholefamily——includingVictor——hadmypermissiontomigrateinthatdirectionandIwishedOldNickjoyoftheircompany。