CHAPTER V 

WOLF'S OFFER 

Jefferson sat in the shade of the bougainvillea and pondered some letters. Austin lounged in a basket-chair opposite and read the _Diario_. They had combined their business as far as possible, but Pancho Brown would not agree to a formal amalgamation. All was quiet. One heard the fountain splash and Betty's typewriter rattle. Sometimes a voice came from the room where Jefferson's Spanish clerks were occupied, but this was all. 

Presently Austin put down the newspaper. 

"The tomato crop was light and the vines are doing badly. It's ominous that the Palma import houses are cutting down their orders." 

"Martinez allowed he wanted to get out of the deal in chemical fertilisers. Trade is looking sick," Jefferson agreed. 

"When I joined Pancho Brown I used to study the accounts and congratulate myself when I saw our credits going up," Austin remarked with a smile. "To feel I could write a cheque for a good sum was something very new. Now I'm bothered because we have money at the bank. I don't see how it's going to be usefully employed." 

"You want to keep money moving. Well, I met Wolf a day or two since, and he hinted he knew about a deal. I wasn't keen, but he said he might come around and see us. I rather expect him." 

"You don't trust the fellow?" 

"Sure thing! Reckon it's instinctive. I like straightforward folks. Wolf's a mystery man." 

Austin looked up and laughed. "He's coming." 

Wolf crossed the flags, and when he stopped by the bougainvillea his face was red. He was fat and his thin, black alpaca jacket looked very tight. 
What kind of partners are they?
 They had combined their business as far as possible,