"Louis L'amour - sackett05 - Ride The River" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

"I saw him. I shall see him again in the morning. He is coming with me to see
Mr. White."
Very patiently the man said, "Miss Sackett, I know very important men who have
tried for weeks to see Mr. Chantry. He is a busy man and accepts no new clients.
You must have met somebody else who you assumed was Finian Chantry."
He resumed eating and for a moment I thought of replying, then thought it was no
use. And what did it matter, anyway?
Amy Sulky came in and seated herself. "Echo, there's a man in the sitting room
who wishes to speak to you. His name is White. He said you would know him, but I
told him we were at supper and he could not see you until it was over."
Mr. Prescott said, "Miss Sackett? If I can be of service? A witness or
something?"
"Thank you. I cannot imagine why Mr. White is here. We were to meet in the
morning, when Mr. Chantry can be there."
The man down the table gave me an exasperated glance, but his mouth was full as
usual and he said nothing. I am sure he wished to. He was called Mr. Butts, and
judging by the size of his stomach, he was a very important man. He mopped the
gravy from his plate with a piece of bread and looked enviously across the table
at the skinny young man's plate whose meal was only half-eaten.
Amy Sulky arose. "If I can help in any way ... ?" she paused, lifting her
eyebrows in question.
"No, ma'am. I have met him before. It will be all right."
White got quickly to his feet when I came into the room. "Ah! Miss Sackett! How
good of you to see me! Knowing how anxious you were to return to your mountains,
I thought I had best do as much as possible to expedite your trip.
"I have the money here, and you've only to sign a release and you can be on your
way. A receipt, that is."
Taking from his pocket a small sack, he began counting out gold pieces on the
table. For a moment I could only stare. Never before in my life had I seen even
one gold piece, and here they were in shining stacks, and all mine. It was
unbelievable.
He placed a sheet of paper on the table before me.
All I could think of was the gold and what it would do for all of us, and I
wished that Pa had lived until now.
Mr. White dipped a pen in the inkwell and handed it to me. "Just sign right
there"Чhe put a pudgy finger on the lineЧ"just sign right there and it is all
yours."
He pushed a stack of the gold toward me, and I reached for the pen.
First I sat down and looked at that paper. Five hundred dollars in gold was a
sight of money, and it would do a lot for my folks, but I did not like that bit
about "paid in full." How did I know that was all there was? And Mr. Prescott,
him with the bald head and the beard, he had said, "Don't sign anything."
"Mr. White," I said, "I can't do it. I talked to Finian Chantry and he is coming
to your office with me tomorrow morning. There's no reason why I can't wait
until then."
His mean little eyes tightened a bit around the edges. "Miss Sackett"Чhe held
his voice patientЧ"I do not have time to waste. I have brought you the money,
five hundred dollars in gold. Sign that paper and it is yours.
"I won't," he added, "even deduct the cost of advertising or my expenses. You
can have it all."