Атлант расправил плечи

           Iseemtobepopularwithanastonishingcollectionofpublicfiguresfromallovertheworld—fromPeople’sStateswhereyouwouldn’tthinkthere’sanymoneyleftatall."

           Taggartsaiddryly,frowning,"Therearemanyreasons—businessreasons—whyitissometimesadvisablenottomakeone’sinvestmentsdirectly."

           "Onereasonisthatamandoesn’twantpeopletoknowhe’srich.

           Anotheristhathedoesn’twantthemtolearnhowhegotthatway."

           "Idon’tknowwhatyoumeanorwhyyoushouldobject."

           "Oh,Idon’tobjectatall.Iappreciateit.Agreatmanyinvestors—theold-fashionedsort—droppedmeaftertheSanSebastianMines.

           Itscaredthemaway.Butthemodernoneshadmorefaithinmeandactedastheyalwaysdo—onfaith.Ican’ttellyouhowthoroughlyIappreciateit."

           TaggartwishedFranciscowouldnottalksoloudly;hewishedpeoplewouldnotgatheraroundthem."Youhavebeendoingextremelywell,"hesaid,inthesafetoneofabusinesscompliment.

           "Yes,haven’tI?It’swonderfulhowthestockofd’AnconiaCopperhasrisenwithinthelastyear.ButIdon’tthinkIshouldbetooconceitedaboutit—there’snotmuchcompetitionleftintheworld,there’snoplacetoinvestone’smoney,ifonehappenstogetrichquickly,andhere’sd’AnconiaCopper,theoldestcompanyonearth,theonethat’sbeenthesafestbetforcenturies.