me to warn you, that as he is a very
busy man, every minute of his time can cost a considerable amount of
money and goods.... Yes, I'll tell him that.... I'll be waiting for
your call.... Yes, I will. Thank you, and good-bye." He hung up the
telephone with a flourish.

"Satisfied, Mr. Robertson?"

I was satisfied. "Quite, Mr. W. W. Wakefield. Wouldst care for ein
bier?"

Ein bier haben. He would.

The telephone rang about an hour later, and I answered it. It was the
Old Man's voice.

"Mr. Robertson?" he said cautiously.

"Mr. Robertson speaking," I said. "Yes?"

"I'm calling," he told me in a voice that said he was annoyed, but
didn't want to show it, "in reference to the Wisconsin Dells merger."

"Yes?" I gave him no help.

"You understand, Mr. Robertson, that such an important merger can
hardly be arranged at a moment's notice."

Yes, I understood that. "But two days notice is more than sufficient,
even allowing for an enormous amount of red tape." I put real regret
into my voice. "It is not that I wouldn't like to let nature take its
course, but other things must be taken into consideration." I hoped I
sounded like the busy executive. "I believe that Mr. Wakefield, Mr. W.
W. Wakefield, has explained that I am a very busy man, and that I can
hardly be expected to wait indefinitely in even such a pleasant
atmosphere."

The Old Man forced a cheery--and false--heartiness. "There are, or
there might be, Mr. Robertson, other things that might induce you to
stay. Many other things."

Threaten me, would he? "That, I doubt very much. I'm afraid I must
insist--it's now two-twenty. If a merger, or at least a meeting cannot
be arranged by tomorrow at the very latest, the reason for having a
meeting will, for all practical purposes, have ceased to exist. Do I
make myself clear?"

I certainly did. With a short-tempered bang, Smith hung up, after
saying that he would call back later. I relayed the conversation to
Bob Stein, and we sent down for lunch.

The Old Man called back about seven, when I was washing up, and Bob
answered the telephone. By the time I came out he had all the
information we needed, and was calling room service to clear the
dishes.

"Meeting tonight," he said when he was finished. He was pleased with
himself.

"Good." It was getting a little tiresome being cramped up. "When?
Where?"

He shrugged. "Where? I couldn't say. Someone will call for us,
somewhere between nine and ten. And," he