"And of course I shall
expect you to draw up now an agreement to that effect.
I happen to have a stamped paper with me this time.
And if you don't mind, we will have it properly witnessed--
this time."
Thorpe looked at him with a disconcertingly leaden stare,
the while he thought over what had been proposed.
"That's right enough," he announced at last, "but I shall
expect you to do some writing too. Since we're dealing
on this basis, there must be no doubt about the guarantee
that you will perform your part of the contract."
"The performance itself, since payment is conditional
upon it--" began Plowden, but the other interrupted him.
"No, I want something better than that. Here--give me your
stamped paper." He took the bluish sheet, and, without hesitation,
wrote several lines rapidly. "Here--this is my promise,"
he said, "to pay you 150,000 pounds, upon your satisfactory
performance of a certain undertaking to be separately
nominated in a document called 'A,' which we will jointly
draw up and agree to and sign, and deposit wherever
you like--for safe keeping. Now, if you'll sit here,
and write out for me a similar thing--that in consideration
of my promise of 150,000 pounds, you covenant to perform
the undertaking to be nominated in the document 'A'--and so on."
Lord Plowden treated as a matter of course the ready and
business-like suggestion of the other.
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