It's up to you to be my
grasping, bargaining, unloving husband for about an hour."
"I hadn't thought of myself in that part," he objected. "I'd figured
that we'd bring in a new man to be the husband. It's pretty dangerous
for me, my stringing Dick along all this while and then suddenly to
enter the act as your husband--and to take the money."
"Dangerous!" There was sudden contempt in her voice and in her eyes.
"So you're that kind of man, Barney--afraid! And afraid after my
telling Dick you were my husband, and his swallowing the thing without
a suspicion! Well, right this minute is when we call this deal off--
and every other deal!"
"Oh, don't be so quick with that temper of yours, Maggie! I merely
said it was dangerous. Of course I'll do it."
And then Barney asked, with a cunning he tried to hide: "But why did
you ask me to have Old Jimmie show up here right after me? We don't
need him."
"Just what's behind your saying that, Barney?" she demanded sharply.
He squirmed a little, then spoke the truth. "You don't love your
father any too much, and he doesn't love you any too much--I know
that. He needn't really know how much we take off Sherwood; if he
wasn't here, he'd have to take our word for what we got and we'd tell
him we got mighty little.
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