“Insofar as feeding the cats is concerned, I’ve obtained some special licenses from the State Game Department to take elk and deer year-round from certain areas, and should the hunting fail at any time, I’ll have sides of beef brought up here for them, or mutton or goat or horse or whatever. Your precious shaggy bison and cattle and bastard cross-breeds will not be bothered, please believe me, whether or not you happen to be around to watch over them.”
Harel’s bushy eyebrows elevated markedly. “And just why, Mr. Bedford, would I not be here to watch over the bovines. eh? Have you conspirators schemed to rid yourselves of me, then? To try to buy my departure, perhaps? Disabuse yourselves; my contract reads ‘until successful completion of ongoing project or severance upon payment of mutually agreed-upon sum.’ in order to buy my departure, you will have to pay me four million dollars, in cash, please.”
“Lieber Gott!” commented Dr. Marberg. “No one could ever accuse you of undervaluing yourself, Doctor. That sum represents two-thirds of the amount we now have for the entire year, unless we can replicate in less time than that. You know that, too, don’t you? You would depart happily only if you could know that you had done your best to sink this project before it was hardly begun. You are truly scum, aren’t you, Harel? If you cannot have everything your own selfish, peculiar way, you’d willingly, gladly spoil it for everyone else.”
“Saure Ziege!” sneered Harel. “No matter what fables this Jim of yours has spun, I happen to know the truth of the matter. When his grandfather died, he left an estate of over five hundreds of millions of dollars, so there is far more money available than this pig of a James Bedford would have you and me think. He just wants to get everything cheap, like all capitalist pigs since the very beginning of time. You may all come just that cheaply, but I don’t”
Bedford shook his head slowly and said, with exasperation in his voice, “You babbling fool, Harel, you think you know far more than you actually do in this matter. Yes, my grandfather’s estate was sizable, even after the whopping taxes on it were duly paid in full. But you seem to think I inherited all of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, in actuality; my total—total, Harel, all—inheritance was a bit over forty-one million dollars, but not in the form of cash, rather in investments which pay out to me an income of not quite five million dollars per calendar year, out of which I have to pay taxes. Almost my entire yearly stipend has gone directly into your lackluster, long-drawn-out Project latifrons during the last few years, for the little that you appreciated that fact. What little of a bank account the project has left as of right now is what little is left of this year’s stipend.
“So far as the principal is concerned, you silly ass, I could be starving and in rags and I still could not touch one red cent of it. Don’t you know anything about inheritance?
“I had been intending to pay you enough to relocate, along with my personal note for a bit more in time. I also found a slot for you, one with a project that I think you’ll like one in which your experience with island fauna will be valuable. Dr. Fleming Van Natta and a group sponsored by the State of California and in part funded by the Steakley Foundation will shortly commence a project to replicate the so-called dwarf mammoths on those same Channel Islands whereon the fossils of them have been found. I spoke with Dr. Van Natta, told him of you and of your work on Cyprus, and he seems quite anxious to meet with you, to have you as a member of his group.”
“Jim, that was such a nice thing to do for Dr. Harel.” said Dr. Marberg. “You we basically a nice, sweet man, you—”
“He is a meddling fool!” snarled Harel, red-faced. “I have no intention of leaving this project for another until either we achieve a patentable replication of Bison latifrons or I am paid my four millions of dollars. Do I make clear myself?
“Now, you will immediately reconnect the videophone, Bedford. I must have conversation with Dr. Ivanov.”
“Relative to what. Harel?” demanded Bedford shortly.
“I do not at all enjoy to be questioned, Bedford” replied Harel frigidly. “But I nonetheless will tell you of this. I must have another … no, two more wisent cows delivered to this location as soon as possible. Also, he spoke when last I rang him up of some Bos gaurus huabbacki which have been bred up from stock obtained in Malaysia and acclimated to Siberia. I want at least a pair of them.”
“My God!” Bedford smote his forehead forcefully with the heel of one hand. To the others he said, “Have you understood all that I’ve been saying here today? Or did I unconsciously slip into Pushtu, Algonquin or Basque? I don’t think he’s understood a single word I’ve said.
“Dr. Harel Project latifrons is on indefinite hold, can you comprehend that fact? There will be no more funds expended on the acquisition of new or replacement stock for it. Indeed, there will be no funds at all spent on it other than what is absolutely necessary to keep the existing herd alive … and that only until and if we can find good placements for them elsewhere, with zoos or another project.”
“No, Bedford, it is you who have not understood,” stated Harel grimly. “The mere possession of those stinking, bloodthirsty cats does not mean that Ptoject latifrons is to end. To end the project must be voted upon by the whole of the staff, and I say no. How say you, Dr. Stekowski?” he demanded in a peculiar, ominous tone, his hard eyed gaze fixed upon the old man.
Stekowski’s lips moved, but no sound emerged. He tried again and said, in a half-whisper. “No, no, Dr. Harel.”
Harel smiled smugly and had started to speak when Stekowski spoke again. “No, Dr. Harel, I do not agree with you. Not this time, not ever again. I do not truly know just why you felt that we all must be sent off into the latifrons business, which you must have realized would require far more time than we could find the funding to support, but I can guess why.
“The manner in which you forced my acquiescence to your schemes for so long was despicable, there is no other term to describe it. It was quite effective, naturally, as you must have well known that it would be. But the good God in whom you do not believe has loosed your hateful hold on me, He has taken my dear brother to His bosom, he can never again be hurt by those I think you serve, Dr. Harel.”
For the first time he could recall, Bedford saw Harel look stunned, not a little perturbed and clearly worried. “What of you, Dr. Singh?” he asked, licking his lips several times, as if they had become suddenly very dry.
The East Indian shrugged. “If we had had more time and money, then the latifrons affair might have been a complete success and gained us a patent … though I doubt there would’ve, could’ve been much of a market for the replications after that. But as matters now stand, with the excellent prospects that we have been so fortuitously granted in Mr. Bedford’s newest acquisitions, I think that Project feethami will quickly result in both a patent and a ready, enthusiastic and probably large market. Therefore I say that we formally end Project latifrons and formally commence our Project feethami as of this date.”