Атлант расправил плечи

           Itwasnotmerelyrelief:itwasthesuddenrealizationthatnothingelsewasnecessarytoguaranteethatitwouldbedone;sheneedednoproofs,noquestions,noexplanations;acomplexproblemcouldrestsafelyonthreesyllablespronouncedbyamanwhoknewwhathewassaying.

           "Don’tshowthatyou’rerelieved."Hisvoicewasmocking."Nottooobviously."Hisnarrowedeyeswerewatchingherwithanunrevealingsmile."ImightthinkthatIholdTaggartTranscontinentalinmypower."

           "Youknowthat,anyway."

           "Ido.AndIintendtomakeyoupayforit."

           "Iexpectto.Howmuch?"

           "Twentydollarsextrapertononthebalanceoftheorderdeliveredaftertoday."

           "Prettysteep,Hank.Isthatthebestpriceyoucangiveme?"

           "No.Butthat’stheoneI’mgoingtoget.Icouldasktwicethatandyou’dpayit."

           "Yes,Iwould.Andyoucould.Butyouwon’t."

           "Whywon’tI?"

           "BecauseyouneedtohavetheRioNorteLinebuilt.It’syourfirstshowcaseforReardenMetal."

           Hechuckled."That’sright.Iliketodealwithsomebodywhohasnoillusionsaboutgettingfavors."

           "Doyouknowwhatmademefeelrelieved,whenyoudecidedtotakeadvantageofit?"

           "What?"

           "ThatIwasdealing,foronce,withsomebodywhodoesn’tpretendtogivefavors."

           Hissmilehadadiscerniblequalitynow:itwasenjoyment."Youalwaysplayitopen,don’tyou?"heasked.

           "I’venevernoticedyoudoingotherwise."

           "IthoughtIwastheonlyonewhocouldaffordto."

           "I’mnotbroke,inthatsense,Hank."