heaviest boxes are those with the rifles. There are nine of them and they weigh about forty pounds each. But they have rope handles."
Mr. Lee looked at him with interest. "You speak as if you have had experience before."
"I am a business man, Mr. Lee." Girija paused. "Perhaps, now that you have examined the samples, we should discuss financial arrangements and terms."
Mr. Lee took the list from his pocket. "These prices you mention are foolish. You knew that, of course."
Girija smiled. "I knew that you would say they were foolish, Mr. Lee. And, of course, I understand. These are always difficult goods to sell. The right buyer may not be found immediately. The demand fluctuates. Handling and storage charges are high. You must work on a very small margin of profit. That is why I am prepared to pay fifty per cent of these estimated prices to the selling agent."
"You are prepared, Mr. Krishnan? What about your friend?"
Girija was not disconcerted. "I am authorised to speak for him at present," he said. "I say 'at present' because my friend is considering the possibility of going to Singapore and investigating the market personally."
"Could your friend move the goods?"
"He is a patient man. He could wait."
Mr. Lee did not reply immediately. He was tired of Girija's toothy smile and the knowing lilt in his voice. "Your prices are foolish," he repeated coldly.
Girija smiled again. "Then I will reduce them, Mr. Lee. I will accept thirty thousand dollars Malay net."
"That is ,an insignificant reduction."
"It is the only one I can make."
"I will pay twenty thousand."
They compromised in the end on twenty-five thousand, to be paid one month after the goods were handed over. A protocol for the transaction was also agreed. Under this, each of the high contracting parties was protected against murder or trickery on the part of the other. The meeting ended in an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual respect.
The following day Tan Yam Heng took the train back to Singapore.
The following week Tan Siow Mong flew up to Hong Kong. He was there for only two days; but he was able to spend an entertaining and constructive evening with his niece and her husband, Khoo Ah Au.
CHAPTER THREE
TWELVE HOURS out of Kobe, the Silver Isle ran into bad weather and more than half her ninety passengers took to their cabins.
She was owned by the Isle Line which operated a freight run between San Francisco and Calcutta, calling at Yokohama, Kobe, Hong Kong, Manila, Saigon, Singapore and, occasionally, Rangoon. With the growing popularity of round-the-world trips, the company's passenger traffic had increased rapidly, and they had refitted two of their newer ships so as to enlarge and improve the cabin accommodation. The Silver Isle was one of these. Unfortunately, the improvements, which included an extra deck, had also added considerably to her top hamper, and in any but the calmest sea she rolled heavily.
For Greg Nilsen, however, the bad weather came as a blessing. Both he and Dorothy, his wife, were good sailors and could go down to the dining-room with their appetites unimpaired. True, Dorothy did complain that the incessant rolling made her tired; but he could only view that as a minor inconvenience. As far as he was concerned, any weather conditions that kept Arlene Drecker confined to her cabin were fine.
Greg was an engineer and the owner of a precision die-casting business in Wilmington, Delaware. He and Dorothy had been planning their round-the-world trip for over two years; ever since their younger boy had gone to college.
They could have done it earlier if they had been prepared to fly most of the way; but Dorothy had said no. She had wanted to do it properly; by sea, and in small, slow boats.
"After all," she had said; "we're only going to be able to do it once in our lives. All the tourists go to Tokyo and Hong Kong and Paris and Rome, places like that. I think we ought to see some of the little out-of-the-way places as
Mr. Lee looked at him with interest. "You speak as if you have had experience before."
"I am a business man, Mr. Lee." Girija paused. "Perhaps, now that you have examined the samples, we should discuss financial arrangements and terms."
Mr. Lee took the list from his pocket. "These prices you mention are foolish. You knew that, of course."
Girija smiled. "I knew that you would say they were foolish, Mr. Lee. And, of course, I understand. These are always difficult goods to sell. The right buyer may not be found immediately. The demand fluctuates. Handling and storage charges are high. You must work on a very small margin of profit. That is why I am prepared to pay fifty per cent of these estimated prices to the selling agent."
"You are prepared, Mr. Krishnan? What about your friend?"
Girija was not disconcerted. "I am authorised to speak for him at present," he said. "I say 'at present' because my friend is considering the possibility of going to Singapore and investigating the market personally."
"Could your friend move the goods?"
"He is a patient man. He could wait."
Mr. Lee did not reply immediately. He was tired of Girija's toothy smile and the knowing lilt in his voice. "Your prices are foolish," he repeated coldly.
Girija smiled again. "Then I will reduce them, Mr. Lee. I will accept thirty thousand dollars Malay net."
"That is ,an insignificant reduction."
"It is the only one I can make."
"I will pay twenty thousand."
They compromised in the end on twenty-five thousand, to be paid one month after the goods were handed over. A protocol for the transaction was also agreed. Under this, each of the high contracting parties was protected against murder or trickery on the part of the other. The meeting ended in an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual respect.
The following day Tan Yam Heng took the train back to Singapore.
The following week Tan Siow Mong flew up to Hong Kong. He was there for only two days; but he was able to spend an entertaining and constructive evening with his niece and her husband, Khoo Ah Au.
CHAPTER THREE
TWELVE HOURS out of Kobe, the Silver Isle ran into bad weather and more than half her ninety passengers took to their cabins.
She was owned by the Isle Line which operated a freight run between San Francisco and Calcutta, calling at Yokohama, Kobe, Hong Kong, Manila, Saigon, Singapore and, occasionally, Rangoon. With the growing popularity of round-the-world trips, the company's passenger traffic had increased rapidly, and they had refitted two of their newer ships so as to enlarge and improve the cabin accommodation. The Silver Isle was one of these. Unfortunately, the improvements, which included an extra deck, had also added considerably to her top hamper, and in any but the calmest sea she rolled heavily.
For Greg Nilsen, however, the bad weather came as a blessing. Both he and Dorothy, his wife, were good sailors and could go down to the dining-room with their appetites unimpaired. True, Dorothy did complain that the incessant rolling made her tired; but he could only view that as a minor inconvenience. As far as he was concerned, any weather conditions that kept Arlene Drecker confined to her cabin were fine.
Greg was an engineer and the owner of a precision die-casting business in Wilmington, Delaware. He and Dorothy had been planning their round-the-world trip for over two years; ever since their younger boy had gone to college.
They could have done it earlier if they had been prepared to fly most of the way; but Dorothy had said no. She had wanted to do it properly; by sea, and in small, slow boats.
"After all," she had said; "we're only going to be able to do it once in our lives. All the tourists go to Tokyo and Hong Kong and Paris and Rome, places like that. I think we ought to see some of the little out-of-the-way places as
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