THEY GO HOME 553

Dersingham, with great bitterness. "No mistake about
that. Only it's not worth having now, that's all
Mikorsky's have raised all their prices. They say it's
owing to the increased cost of their new process and to
some labour troubles and to some new government tax-
oh, they've got all kinds of reasons, and they may be
true and they may not, but the fact remains they've
raised all their prices. They're all up fifty and sixty
and even seventy per cent/'

"As much as that? Good Lord, Mr. Dersingham,
that's a ridiculous advance. It makes them as dear as
the most expensive of the old firms we were dealing with
before, doesn't it? I see, now."

"No, you don't see, you don't see at all yet/* Mr.
Dersingham yelled at him. "It's a lot worse than that.
Look at that telegram. Just look at it."

"I don't understand this, sir/' said Mr. Smeeth, after
carefully reading the telegram. "Why did they send it?"

"They sent it because I'd wired to them asking if what
Golspie had written to me was true. I thought he might
have been bluffing, just out of devilish spite. But he
wasn't. They're all in league together, of course, if you
want my opinion, just a lot of rotten foreign swindlers
with this chap Golspie the worst of the lot/1

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dersingham. I can see it's a bad busi-
ness. But I don't quite get the hang of it yet. They can't
have raised their prices already."

"My God!-that's just what they have done, and that
filthy telegram confirms it." Mr. Dersingham banged it
so hard with his fist that he hurt his hand. Then he
became quieter and sat down again. "I'm getting too
excited. Sorry I yelled like that, Smeeth, though it's
enough to make any man shout his head off. I'll explain,