“But,” said Doyle ignoring this interruption, “it wouldn’t suit me if there was any debt at the latter end. For it’s myself would have to pay it if there was, and that’s what I’d not be inclined to do. The way you’re spending money on posters and advertisements there’ll be very little of the American gentleman’s £100 left when it comes to buying the statue.” “I see your point all right, Doyle, but——” “If you see it,” said Doyle, “I’m surprised at you going on the way you are; but, sure, I might have known that you wouldn’t care how much you’d spend or how much you’d owe at the latter end. There’s that £60——” “Don’t harp on about that miserable £60,” said Dr. O’Grady, “for I won’t stand it. Here I am doing the very best I can to make money for you, taking no end of trouble, and all you do is to come grumbling to me day after day about some beggarly account that I happen to owe you.” “It’s what I don’t see is how I’m going to make a penny out of it at all, the way you’re going on.” “Listen to me now, Doyle. Supposing—I just say supposing—the Government was to build a pier, a new pier, in Ballymoy, who do you think would get the contract for the job?” “I would, of course,” said Doyle, “for there’d be no other man in the town fit to take it.” “And how much do you suppose you’d make out of it?” “What’s the use of talking that way?” said Doyle. “Hasn’t the Government built us two piers already, and is it likely they’d build us another?” “That’s not the point. What I’m asking you is: Supposing they did build another and you got the contract for it, how much do you suppose you’d make?” “Well,” said Doyle, “if it was a good-sized pier and if the engineer they sent down to inspect the work wasn’t too smart altogether I might clear £100.” “Now, suppose,” said Dr. O’Grady, “that you were able to sell the stones of that old mill of yours——” “They’re good stones, so they are.” “Exactly, and you’d expect a good price for them. Now suppose you succeeded in selling them to the Government as raw material for the pier——” “They’d be nice and handy for the work,” said Doyle. “Whoever was to use those stones for building the pier would save a devil of a lot of expense in carting.” “That, of course, would be considered in fixing the price of the stones.” “It would,” said Doyle. “It would have to be, for I wouldn’t sell them without it was.” “Under those circumstances,” said Dr. O’Grady, “what do you suppose you’d make?” “I’d make a tidy penny,” said Doyle. “Very well. Add that tidy penny to the £100 profit on the pier contract and it seems to me that it would pay you to lose a couple of pounds—and I don’t admit that you will lose a penny—over the statue business.” The mention of the statue brought Doyle back from a pleasant dream to the region of hard fact. “What’s the good of talking?” he said. “The Government will build no more piers here.”