"But didn't your contract with them specify that the scale of royalties that you accepted applied only to a full-length novel?"

"Well, I suppose it did. I guess I didn't read it very carefully. But they must have made a lot more money on Instead than they expected."

Tarrant leaned back in his chair and laid his fingertips together, with the gently argumentative air of one who reasons with the unreasonable. "My dear Weston," he began; and Vance winced at the apostrophe. All authors, Tarrant went on—young authors, that is—thought there was nothing easier than to decide exactly how much money their editors and publishers were making out of them. And they always worked out the account to their own disadvantage—naturally. In reality it wasn't as simple as that, and editors and publishers often stood to lose the very sums the authors accused them of raking in. A book might have a lot of fuss made about it in a small circle—Instead was just such a case—and yet you couldn't get the big public to buy it. And unluckily it was only the favour of the big public that made a book pay. As a matter of fact, Instead was a loss to Dreck and Saltzer. If Weston would write another book just like it, but of the proper length, very likely they'd make up their deficit on that; a highbrow success on a first book often helped the sales of the next, provided it was the right length. Dreck and Saltzer knew this, and though they were actually out of pocket they were ready to have another try… . Publishing was just one long gamble… . And perhaps it wasn't unfair to remind Weston that, both to the New Hour and to Dreck and Saltzer, he'd so far been, from the business point of view, rather a heavy load to carry… .

Vance had controlled himself by a violent effort of the will; but at this summing-up of the case he broke out. "Well, I daresay I have—but why not let me off our contract, if it's been as much of a disappointment to you as to me?"

Tarrant's slow blood rose to his cheeks. "I'm curious to know why you consider yourself disappointed."

"Why, for the reasons I've told you. My articles haven't been a success—I know that as well as you. But my book has, and under our agreement it's brought me no more than if it had been a failure. I can't live, and keep my wife alive, on the salary you give me, and if you'll let me off I can earn three times the money tomorrow."