actually sunk some thirty feet back of
Mr. Purdy's building--between it and the river--while that gentleman
watched with a quizzical gleam in his eye this defiant procedure. He
was sure that when it came to the necessity of annexing his property
the North and West Chicago Street Railways would be obliged to pay
through the nose.

"Well, I'll be cussed," he frequently observed to himself, for he could
not see how his exaction of a pound of flesh was to be evaded, and yet
he felt strangely restless at times. Finally, when it became
absolutely necessary for Cowperwood to secure without further delay
this coveted strip, he sent for its occupant, who called in pleasant
anticipation of a profitable conversation; this should be worth a small
fortune to him.

"Mr. Purdy," observed Cowperwood, glibly, "you have a piece of land on
the other side of the river that I need. Why don't you sell it to me?
Can't we fix this up now in some amicable way?"

He smiled while Purdy cast shrewd, wolfish glances about the place,
wondering how much he could really hope to exact. The building, with
all its interior equipment, land, and all, was worth in the
neighborhood of two hundred thousand dollars.

"Why should I sell? The building is a good building. It's as useful to
me as it would be to you. I'm making money out of it."

"Quite true," replied Cowperwood, "but I am willing to pay you a fair
price for it. A public utility is involved. This tunnel will be a
good thing for the West Side and any other land you may own over there.
With what I will pay you you can buy more land in that neighborhood or
elsewhere, and make a good thing out of it. We need to put this tunnel
just where it is, or I wouldn't trouble to argue with you.

"That's just it," replied Purdy, fixedly. "You've gone ahead and dug
your tunnel without consulting me, and now you expect me to get out of
the way. Well, I don't see that I'm called on to get out of there just
to please you."

"But I'll pay you a fair price."

"How much will you pay me?"

"How much do you want?"

Mr. Purdy scratched a fox-like ear. "One million dollars."

"One million dollars!" exclaimed Cowperwood. "Don't you think that's a
little steep, Mr. Purdy?"

"No," replied Purdy, sagely. "It's not any more than it's worth."

Cowperwood sighed.

"I'm sorry," he replied, meditatively, "but this is really too much.
Wouldn't you take three hundred thousand dollars in cash now and
c