\"Tellhimtocallatmyhousenexttimeyouseehim。Andforheaven’ssaketellhimtocometotheservants’door。Don’tyoupeopledownherehaveanyservants’doorstoyourhouses？Therehavebeennolessthanfiftypeddlersonmyporchsinceyesterdayandmybutlerwilldieofapoplexyifitkeepson。He’sagoodone，forawonder，andIdon’twanttolosehim。\"
Imadenoreplytothisobservationandhedidnotseemtoexpectany。HewatchedZebrakeforamomentandthenheturnedbacktome。
\"Canyoucomeovertomyhousenow？\"heasked。
IwasnotexpectingthisandagainIdidnothaveananswerready。
\"Canyou？\"hewenton。\"I’vegotabusinessdealtomakewithyouandI’drathermakeitthere。I’vegotalotofcarpentersandpaintersatworkandtheyaskmetenquestionsaminute。TheyareunnecessaryquestionsbutifIdon’tanswerthemthefellowsaresuretomakesomefoolmistakeorother。Theyneedagoverness。
Ifyou’llcomeoverwithmeI’llbeintouchwiththemandyouandIcantalkjustaswell。Cancome，can’tyou？\"
Ididnotknowwhattosay。Iwantedtosayno，thatifhehadanybusinesswithmeitcouldbediscussedinthatboathouse。Ididnotlikehismanner，yetIhadafeelingthatitwashisusualoneandthathehadnotmeanttoberude。AndIcouldthinkofnogoodreasonfornotgoingwithhim。
\"Youcancome，can’tyou？\"herepeated。
\"IsupposeIcan。But——\"
\"Ofcourseifyou’retoobusytoleave——\"
IrememberedthepositionhehadfoundmeinandIratherthinkI
hadturnedred。Hedidnotsmile，buttherewasasortofgrimtwinkleinhiseyes。
\"I’llcome，\"Isaid。
\"Muchobliged。Iwon’tkeepyoulong。Comeon。\"
HeledthewayandIfollowed，rebellious，andangry，notsomuchwithhimaswithmyself。IwishednowthatIhadgoneovertotheColtonplacewhenIfirstreceivedthesummonstocourt，insteadofmakingproclamationsofdefiancetomotherandLuteRogers。Thisseemedsuchacompletebackdown。AswepassedthehouseIsawLutepeeringfromthebarn。Idevoutlyhopedhemightnotseeme，buthedid。Hismouthopenedandhestared。Then，catchingmyeye，hewinkedtriumphantly。Iwantedtopunchhishead。
TheKingofNewYorkwalkedbrisklyoninsilenceuntilwewerejustattheedgeofthegrovebytheShoreLane。Thenhestoppedandturnedtome。
\"Youownallthisland，don’tyou？\"heasked。
\"Yes。\"
\"Humph！Getagoodviewfromhere。\"
Iadmittedthattheviewwasgood。Atthatparticularpointitembracednearlythewholeofthebayinfront，andalargeportionofthevillageattheside。
Hewavedhishandtowardtheclusterofhouses。
\"Thereareeighteenhundredpeopleinthistown，theytellme，\"hesaid。\"Permanentresidents，Imean。Whatdotheyalldo？\"
\"Do？\"
\"Yes。Howdotheygetaliving？Theymustgetitsomehow。Intheregularsummerresortstheysqueezeitoutofthecitypeople，I
knowthat。Buttherearen’tsomanycottagersandboardershere。
Whatdoyoualldoforaliving？\"
ItoldhimthatmostofmasculineDenborofishedorfarmedorkeptstore。
\"Whichdoyoudo？\"heasked。\"Yousaidyouweren’taboat—builder。\"
\"I’mnotdoinganythingatpresent，\"Ireplied，shortly。
\"Outofajob？\"
\"Youmightcallitthat。Isthisapartofthebusinessyouwishedtoseemeabout，Mr。Colton？\"
Iwasboilinginwardlyandalittleoftheheatwasexpressedinmytone。Idon’tknowwhetherhetookthehintormerelylostinterestinthesubject。Atanyratehisreplywasabrief\"No，\"
andwecontinuedourwalk。
AswereachedtheShoreLanehepausedagain，andIthoughthewasabouttospeak。Hedidnot，however，andwecrossedtheboundarylineofmypropertyandenteredtheColtongrounds。AswedrewnearertothehouseIwassurprisedtoseehowlargeitwas。WhentheAtwatersowneditIwasanoccasionalcallerthere，foroldMajorAtwaterwasfondofshootingandsometimesborrowedmydecoys。But，sinceitchangedhands，IhadnotbeennearertoitthantheLane。Withthenewwingandtheotheradditionsitwasenormous。Itfairlyreekedofmoney，though，sofarasIwasajudge，thetasteshowninrebuildinganddecoratingwasgood。Weturnedthecorner，whereAsaPeters，theheadcarpenter，camehurryingup。Asalookedsurprisedenoughtoseemeincompanywithhisemployerandregardedmewonderingly。\"Mr。Colton，\"hesaid，\"Iwantedtoaskyouaboutthemskylights。\"Isteppedbackoutofhearing，butIinferredfromColton’sactionsthatthequestionwasanotheroneofthe\"unnecessary\"oneshehadsoscornfullyreferredtointheboathouse。
\"Jackass！\"heexclaimed，asherejoinedme。IjudgedhewasclassifyingAsa，but，ifso，hedidnottroubletolowerhisvoice。
\"Comeon，Paine，\"headded，andwepassedalonglineofwindows，hungwithcostlycurtains，andsteppeduponahandsomeColonialporticobeforetwobigdoors。
Thedoorswereopenedbyanimposingpersonageindarkblueandbrassbuttons，whobowedprofoundlybeforeColtonandregardedmewithcondescendingsuperiority。Thispersonage，whomIrecognized，fromAlvin’sdescription，asthe\"minister—lookin’\"butler，ledusthroughahallaboutaslargeasoursitting—room，dining—roomandkitchencombined，butbearingnootherresemblancetotheseapartments，andopenedanotherdoor，throughwhich，bowingoncemore，heusheredus。Thenheclosedthedoor，leavinghimself，tomyrelief，outside。IthadbeenalongtimesinceIwaswaiteduponbyabutlerandIfoundthisspecimenratheroverpowering。
Theroomwewereinwasthelibrary，and，thoughitwasbiggerandfarmoresumptuousthanthelibraryIrememberedsowellasaboy，thesightofthebooksintheircasesalongthewallsgavemeafeelingalmostofhomesickness。Myresentmentagainstmymillionaireneighborincreased。Whyshouldheandhishaveeverything，andtherestofusbedeprivedofthelittleweoncehad？
Coltonseatedhimselfinaleatherupholsteredchairandwavedhishandtowardanother。
\"Sitdown，\"hesaid。Hetookacigarfromhispocket。\"Smoke？\"heasked。
Iwasaconfirmedsmoker，butIwasnotgoingtosmokeoneofhiscigars——notthen。
\"Nothankyou，\"saidI。Hedidnotcommentonmyrefusal，butlitthecigarhimself，fromthestumpofhisformerone。Thenhecrossedhislegsandproceeded，withcharacteristicabruptness，tohissubject。
\"Paine，\"hebegan，\"youownthislandnexttome，yousay。Yourpropertyendsatthefencethissideofthatroadwejustcrossed，doesn’tit？\"
\"Itendswhereyoursbegins，\"Iannounced。
\"Yes。Justthissideofthatroad。\"
\"OftheShoreLane。Itisn’taroadexactly。\"
\"Idon’tcarewhatyoucallit。Roadorlaneorcow—path。Itendsthere？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"AnditISyourland？Itbelongstoyou，personally，allofit，freeandclear？\"
\"Why——yes；itdoes。\"Icouldnotseewhatbusinessofhismyownershipofthatlandmightbe。
\"Allright。Iaskedthatbecause，ifitwasn’tyours，ifitwastiedupormortgagedinanyway，itmightcomplicatematters。Butitisn’t。\"
\"No。\"
\"Good！Thenwecangetdowntobrasstacksandsavetime。Iwantapieceofthatland。\"
Ilookedathim。
\"Youwant——？\"Irepeated，slowly。
\"Iwantastripofyourland。Wanttobuyit，ofcourse。Idon’texpectyoutogiveittome。What’sitworth，bytheacre，say？\"
Ididnotanswer。AllatonceIwasbeginningtoseealight。
CaptainJedDean’smysteriousconversationatthepost—officewasbeginningtolosesomeofitsmystery。
\"Well？\"askedColton，impatiently。Then，withoutwaitinglonger，headded：
\"Bytheway，beforeyounameafigure，answermeonemorequestion。
Thatroad——orlane，orwhateveritis——thatisyours，too？Doesn’tbelongtothetown？\"
Thelightwasgrowingmorebrilliant。Icouldseebreakersahead。
\"No，\"Ireplied，slowly。\"Itisaprivateway。Itbelongstome。\"
\"Good！Well，what’sthatlandofyoursworthbytheacre？\"
Ishookmyhead。\"Iscarcelyknow，\"Isaid。\"I’veneverfigureditthatway。\"
\"Idon’tcarehowyoufigureit。Here，let’sgetdowntoabusinessproposition。IwanttobuyastripofthatlandfromtheLowerRoad——that’swhatyoucalltheoneabovehere，isn’tit？——tothebeach。ThestripIwantisaboutthreehundredfeetwide，foraguess。Itextendsfrommyfencetotheothersideofthatgrovebythebluff。Whatwillyousellitfor？\"
Thebreakerswerecloseaboard。However，Idodgedthemmomentarily。
\"Whydoyouwanttobuy？\"Iasked。
\"Forreasons。\"
\"Ishouldthinkyouhadlandenoughalready。\"
\"IthoughtIhad，butitseemsIhaven’t。Well，what’syourpriceforthatstrip？\"
\"Mr。Colton，I——I’mafraid——\"
\"Nevermindthat。Isupposeyou’reafraidyou’llmakethepricetoolow。Now，seehere，I’mabusyman。Ihaven’ttimetodoanybargaining。Nameyourpriceand，ifit’sanywherewithinreason，wewon’thaggle。Iexpecttopaymorethananyoneelsewould。
That’spartofmyfineforbeingacitymanandnotanative。Gad！
theprivilegeisworththemoney。I’llpaythefine。What’stheprice？\"
\"Butwhydoyouwanttobuy？\"
\"Forreasonsofmyown，Itellyou。Theyhaven’tanythingtodowithyourselling。\"
\"I’mnotsosure。\"
\"Whatdoyoumeanbythat？\"
\"ThatstriptakesintheShoreLane，Mr。Colton。\"
\"Iknowit。\"
\"And，ifyoubuy，IpresumetheLanewillbeclosed。\"
Helookedatme，surprised，and，Ithought，alittleannoyed。
\"Well？\"hesaid；\"supposeitis？\"
\"Butitwillbe，won’tit？\"
\"Youbetyourlifeitwill！Whatofit？\"
\"ThenIdon’tknowthatIcaretosell。\"
Heleanedbackinhischair。
\"Youdon’tcaretosell！\"herepeated，slowly。\"Whatthedevildoyoumeanbythat？\"
\"WhatIsaid。And，besides，Mr。Colton，I——\"
Heinterruptedme。
\"Whydon’tyoucaretosell？\"hedemanded。\"Thelandisnogoodtoyou，isit？\"
\"Notmuch。No。\"
\"Humph！Areyousorichthatyou’vegotallthemoneyyouwant？\"
Iwasangryallthrough。Irosefrommychair。
\"Goodday，Mr。Colton，\"Isaid。
\"Here！\"heshouted。\"Holdon！Whereareyougoing？\"
\"Ican’tseethatthereisanyuseofourtalkingfurther。\"
\"Nouse？Why——There！there！sitdown。It’snoneofmybusinesshowrichyouare，andIbegyourpardon。Sitdown。Sitdown，man，Itellyou！\"
Isatdown，reluctantly。Hethrewhiscigar，whichhadgoneout，intothefireplaceandlitanother。
\"Say，\"hesaid，\"yousurpriseme，Paine。Whatdoyoumeanbysayingyouwon’tsellthatland？Youdon’tknowwhatI’llpayforityet。\"
\"No，Idon’t。\"
\"Thenhowdoyouknowyouwon’tsellit？Ineverhadanythingyet——
exceptmywifeandfamily——thatIwouldn’tsellforaprice。Lookhere！Ihaven’tgottimetodoanyDown—Easthorse—jockeying。I’llmakeyouanoffer。I’llgiveyoufivehundreddollarscashforthatstripofland。Whatdoyousay？\"
Ididn’tsayanything。Fivehundreddollarswasagenerousoffer。
Icouldn’thelpthinkingwhatMotherandImightdowiththatfivehundreddollars。
\"Whatdoyousay？\"herepeated。
Ianswered，Yankeefashion，withanotherquestion。\"Mr。Colton，\"I
asked，\"whydoyouwanttoclosethatShoreLane？\"
\"BecauseIdo。WhatdifferencedoesitmaketoyouwhyIwanttocloseit？\"
\"ThatLanehasbeenusedbyDenboropeopleforyears。Itisalmostapublicnecessity。\"
Hepuffedtwiceonhiscigarbeforehespokeagain。Whenhediditwasinadifferenttone。
\"Isee，\"hesaid。\"Humph！Isee。Paine，doesthetownpayyourentfortheuseofthatroad？\"
\"No。\"
\"Hasitbeenbiddingtobuyit？\"
\"No。\"
\"Isanyoneelseafterit？\"
\"No—o。Ithinknot。But——\"
\"YouTHINKnot。Thatmeansyou’renotsure。You’vehadabitesomewhere。Somebodyhasbeennibblingatyourhook。Well，they’vegottobitequickandswallowsometogetaheadofme。IwantthatroadclosedandI’mgoingtohaveitclosed，soonerorlater。I’dpreferitsooner。\"
\"Butwhydoyouwanttocloseit？\"
Beforehecouldanswertherecameaknockatthedoor。Thebutlerappeared。
\"Ibegyourpardon，sir——\"hebegan。Hismastercuthimshort。
\"Tell’emtowait，\"heordered。\"Ican’tseeanyonenow，Johnson。
Ifitisthatdamnedcarpenterhecanwait。\"
\"Itisn’tthecarpenter，sir，\"explainedJohnson。\"It’sMrs。
Colton，sir。Shewishestoknowifyouhaveboughtthatroad。Shesaysthreeofthose’orridfishcartshavegonebyinthelasthour，sir，andtheyaremakingherverynervous。That’sall，sir。\"
\"TellherI’veboughtit，\"snappedtheheadofthehouse。\"Getout。\"
Thebutlerobeyedorders。Coltonturnedtome。
\"Youheardthat，Paine，\"hesaid。\"That’smyreason，theprincipalone。IboughtthisplaceprincipallyonaccountofMrs。Colton’shealth。Thedoctorssaidsheneededquietandrest。Ithoughtshecouldhavethemhere——Godknowstheplacelookedforsakenenough——
butitappearsshecan’t。WheneversheorIsitontheverandaoratawindowwehavetowatchaprocessionofjaysdrivingsmellyfishcartsthroughthatlaneofyours，orbestaredatbyagangofcountrymenhangingoverthefence。It’sanuisance。Itisbadenoughformeormydaughterandourguests，butitwillbetheruinationofmywife’snerves，andIcan’tstandforthat。YouseethepositionI’min。YouheardwhatItoldthatbutler。IsaidI
hadboughttheroad。Youwouldn’tmakemealiar，wouldyou？I’llgiveyoufivehundredforthatbunchofsand。Youcouldn’tgetmoreforitifyousolditbythepound，liketea。Sayyes，andclosethedeal。\"
Ishookmyhead。
\"Iunderstandyourposition，Mr。Colton，\"Isaid，\"butIcan’tsayyes。Notnow，atanyrate。\"
\"Whynot？Isn’tfivehundredenough？\"
\"It’sagoodoffer。\"
\"Thenwhynotacceptit？\"
\"Because，ifIwerecertainthatIwantedtosell，Icouldnotacceptanyofferjustnow。\"
\"Whynot？Seehere！areyouafraidthetownwillbesorebecausetheroadisclosed？\"
\"Itwouldbeagreatinconveniencetothem。\"
\"It’sagreateronetomeasitis。Canyouaffordtobeaphilanthropist？Areyouoneofthosepublic—spiritedcitizenswereadabout？\"
Hewassneeringnow，andmyanger，whichhadlessenedsomewhatwhenhespokeofhiswife’sillhealth，wasrisingagain。
\"Areyou？\"herepeated。
\"Idon’tknowastothat。But，asIsaidawhileago，Mr。Colton，Icouldn’tsellthatlandtoyounow。\"
\"Whynot？\"
\"Because，iftherewerenootherreason，Ipromisednottosellitwithouttellinganotherpersonfirst。\"
Hethrewdownhiscigarandstoodup。Irosealso。
\"Isee，\"hesaid，withsarcasm。\"Iknewtherewassomethingbesidepublicspirit。Youthink，byhangingoffandplayingmeagainstthisothersucker，youcangetahigherprice。Well，ifthat’sthegame，I’llkeephimbusy。\"
Hetookouthiswatch，glancedatit，andthrustitbackintohispocket。
\"I’vewastedtimeenoughoverthisfoolthing，\"hedeclared。\"NowthatIknowwhatthegameiswe’lltalktothepoint。It’shighwayrobbery，butImighthaveexpectedtoberobbed。I’llgiveyousixhundredforthatland。\"
Ididnotanswer。IwasholdingmytemperbymainstrengthandI
couldnottrustmyselftospeak。
\"Well？\"hesneered。\"Thatshakesyourpublicspiritsome，hey？
Whatdoyousay？\"
\"No，\"Ianswered，andstartedforthedoor。
\"What！\"hecouldhardlybelievehisears。\"BytheLordHarry！thefellowiscrazy。Sixhundredandfiftythen，youinfernalrobber。\"
\"No。\"
\"NO！Say，whatinthunderdoyoumean？\"
\"Imeanthatyoumaygotothedevil，\"Iretorted，andreachedforthedoorknob。
Butbeforemyfingerstouchedittherewasthesoundoflaughterandvoicesinthehall。Theknobwasturnedfromwithout。I
steppedbackandtoonesideinvoluntarily，asthedooropenedandintothelibrarycame，notthebutler，butayounglady，agirlinanautomobilecoatandbonnet。And，followingher，ayoungman。
\"Father，\"saidtheyounglady，\"Johnsonsaysyou’veboughtthathorridroad。I’msoglad！Whendidyoudoit？\"
\"Congratulations，Mr。Colton，\"saidtheyoungman。\"Wejustpassedacartfullofsomething——seaweed，Ibelieveitwas——aswecamealongwiththecar。Oscarhadtoslowdowntosqueezeby，andwecertainlyweresweptbyoceanbreezes。ByJove！Icansmellthemyet。I——\"
Theyoungladyinterruptedhim。
\"Hush，Victor，\"shesaid。\"Ibegyourpardon，Father。Ithoughtyouwerealone。Victor，we’reintruding。\"
Theopendoorhadpartiallyscreenedmefromthenewcomers。ButColton，redandwrathful，hadnotceasedtoglareinmydirectionandshe，followinghisgaze，sawme。Shedidnotrecognizeme，I
think——probablyIhadnotmadesufficientimpressionuponhermindevenforcasualremembrance——butIrecognizedher。Shewasthegirlwiththedarkeyes，whoselookofcontemptuousindifferencehadsowitheredmyself—esteem。Andhercompanionwastheyoungchapwho，fromthetonneauoftheautomobilethatmorning，hadinquiredthewaytoBayport。
Theyoungmanturnedlazily。\"Arewe？\"hesaid。\"I——What！Why，Mabel，it’sthehumorist！\"
Thensherecognizedme。Icouldfeelthebloodclimbingfrommytoestotherootsofmyhair。Iwastooastonishedandchagrinedtospeakorevenmove，thoughIwantedtomoveverymuchindeed。
ShelookedatmeandIather。Thensheturnedcoldlyaway。
\"Come，Victor，\"shesaid。
ButVictorwashisownblaseself。Ittookmorethanatrifletoshakehiscalm。Helaughed。
\"It’sthehumorist，\"herepeated。\"Reuben，howareyou？\"
Coltonregardedthethreeofuswithamazement。
\"What？\"hebegan。\"Mabel，doyou——\"
ButIhadrecoveredmypowersoflocomotion。Iwasonmywayoutofthatlibrary。
\"Here！\"shoutedColton。\"Stop！\"
Ididnotstop。FeelingasIdidatthatmomentitwouldhavebeendistinctlyunpleasantforthepersonwhotriedtostopme。Thegirlwasinmywayand，asIapproached，shedrewherskirtsaside。
Nodoubtitwasmyimaginationwhichmadehermannerofdoingitseemlikeaninsult，but，imaginationorreality，itwastheonethingnecessarytoclenchmyresolution。NowwhenshelookedatmeIreturnedthelookwithinterest。Istrodethroughthedoorwayandacrossthehall。Thebutlerwouldhaveopenedtheouterdoorforme，butIopeneditmyselftotheimminentdangerofhisdignifiednose。AsIsteppedfromtheporticoIheardbehindmearoarfromBigJimColtonandashoutoflaughterfromVictor。
Iwalkedhomeattopspeed。OnlyoncedidIlookback。ThatwasjustasIwasabouttoenterthegroveontheothersideoftheShoreLane。ThenIturnedandsaw，atthebigwindowattheendofthe\"Newportvilla，\"agroupofthreestaringinmydirection：
Colton，hisdaughterandthatcubVictor。Thedistancewastoogreattoseetheexpressionoftheirfaces，butIknewthattwoofthem，atleast，werelaughing——laughingatme。
Ididnotlaugh。
Lutewaswaitingformebythegateandrantomeetme。Hewaswildwithexcitement。
\"Hecameafteryou，didn’the？\"hecried，grabbingatmycoatsleeve。\"Youwentovertohishousewithhim，didn’tyou！IseeyouandatfustIcouldn’tscurcelybelieveit。Whatdidhewant？
Whatdidhesay？\"
Ididnotanswer。Heranalongbesideme，stillclingingtomysleeve。
\"Whatdidhewant？\"herepeated。\"Whatdidhesaytoyou？Whatdidyousaytohim？Tellafeller，can’tyou？\"
\"Itoldhimtogotothedevil，\"Ianswered，savagely。
Luteletgoofmysleeve。
\"You——you——Bytime，you’restarkloony！\"hegasped；andcollapsedagainstthegatepost。
Iwentintothehouse，upthebackstairstomyroom，andshutthedoor。
CHAPTERV
Soshewashisdaughter。Imighthaveguessedit；wouldhaveguesseditifIhadpossessedthecommonestofcommon—sense。I
mighthaveknownthattheautowasColton’s。NoothermachinewaslikelytobetravelingontheLowerRoadatthatseasonoftheyear。ShewastheprettydaughterofwhomDorindahadspokentoMother。Well，shewasprettyenough；evenIhadtoadmitthat。
ButIadmitteditgrudgingly。Ihatedherforherbeautyandfineclothesandhaughtyarrogance。Shewastheincarnationofsnobbishness。
Buttobemadetwiceridiculousevenbytheincarnationofsnobbishnesswasgalling。Shewastobemynext—doorneighbor；wewerelikelytomeetalmostanywhereatanytime。WhenIthoughtofthisandofthetwomeetingswhichhadalreadytakenplaceIsworeattheblueandwhitewater—pitcheronmybureaubecauseitdidnotcontainwaterenoughtodrownme。NotthatIwouldcommitsuicideonheraccount。ShewouldnotcareifIdidandcertainlyIdidnotcarewhethershewouldcareornot；butifIweresatisfactorilydeadIprobablyshouldnotrememberwhatafoolIhadmadeofmyself，orFatehadmadeofme。
WhyhadInotgotoutofthatlibrarybeforeshecame？Oh，ifnot，whyhadn’tIstayedandtoldherfather，inherhearing，andwithdignity，justwhatIthoughtofhimandhisremarkstome？Butno；
Ihadrunaway。She——orthatVictor——wouldtellofthemeetingatthebridge，andallmyindependenceandtherestofitwouldberegardedasofapiecewiththat，justthebig—headed\"smartness\"
ofacountryboor。IntheireyesIwasanuisance，thatwasall。
Adisagreeableone，perhaps，liketheShoreLane，butanuisance，onetolaughatandforget——ifitcouldnotbegottenridof。
WhyhadIgonewithColtonatall？Whyhadn’tIremainedattheboathouseandtheretoldtheKingofNewYorktogotothemischief？orwordstothateffect。ButIhad，atallevents，toldhimthat。InspiteofmychagrinIcouldnothelpchucklingasI
thoughtofit。TotellBigJimColtontogotothedevilwas，initsway，Iimagined，aprivilegeenjoyedbyfew。Itmusthaveshakenhisself—satisfactionatrifle。Well，afterall，whatdidIcare？He，andhiswholefamily——includingVictor——hadmypermissiontomigrateinthatdirectionandIwishedOldNickjoyoftheircompany。