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Rh can get by foreclosure; but I regret to say that he does not see them. I may add that I stand ready to repeat those offers at any time—nothing could be fairer than that."

"I don't like it," mumbled Squiers, doubtfully.

Boyd turned on him swiftly.

"Good Lord, neither do I!" he cried. "But what has that to do with it? It's a plain business transaction. The man has borrowed more than he can pay. The matter, gentlemen, is not in your discretion. You are not acting as individuals, but as trustees for others. I tell you here and plainly that one of two things is going to happen: either you sell me these notes now, in which case I will personally take care of the Colonel; or you will most certainly be required to foreclose, in which case the exact legal steps of the law will be taken, and not one step more!"

"And what if we do neither?" demanded Donovan, half rising.

Boyd hit the table with his clenched fist.

"I'm here to see that you do," he thundered. "I've been through this mill before, gentlemen; and, believe me, I mean business!" He glanced down the director's table. "There are others beside Colonel Peyton who are skating on thin ice," he added significantly.

"Is that to be understood as a threat?" asked Donovan, pugnaciously.

"You bet your sweet life that's a threat!" rejoined Boyd with unexpected candour. "And if you don't believe I can make good on it, just try it and see! Mind you," he added, "I'm not pretending to dictate what you shall do; but you've got to do something legal in this matter, and do it now." He glanced again down the board table. Two of the directors were glaring back at him belligerently. The rest were staring at the polished surface of the table. "Your course of action is as follows: you can sell to me; you can sell to somebody else—and I wish you joy in finding another human being who would give you three cents for the proposition as it stands; you can foreclose. In the first case, all right. In the second place, all right, and God bless you, if you can find a purchaser. In the third case you're going