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Alfred McIntyre was a personal friend of mine. I didn't know anybody at Houghton-Mifflin. It just happened that way. So we asked Alfred McIntyre on the phone. He came right down from Boston. That was when we found out that these two great friendly houses, Little Brown and Houghton-Mifflin, on the surface were great friends but were bitter rivals underneath. Alfred McIntyre said, “I won't come in if you have Houghton-Mifflin.” So Little Brown joined us and Houghton- Mifflin never were asked.
What about Scribner's?
Then I called up Mr. Scribner. This all had to be done in forty-eight hours. The contract had been all made out with Marshall Field. It was all ready to be settled. Shimkin had settled all of the terms with Marshall Field and with Mr. Dunlap. Alex Grosset was dead and Dunlap, son of the dead co-founder, was interested mainly in golf. He was the amateur golf champion of the United States.
So you called Mr. Scribner.
So we called Charles Scribner, one of the most cautious men that ever lived. He would think twice before he bought two 2¢ stamps, whether the investment was a good one or not. I said, “This has got to be done right away. We want you with us. I'd like to send over the papers and show you the
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