Gallieni neither refused nor agreed.
He smiled gently and said, "If you can prove they are worth this price, I would be happy to pay 10% interest for it, otherwise..."
Shire originally wanted to protest, this had nothing to do with him, the money he spent for the military should be reimbursed.
But Gallieni added, "And I will also consider the flight club at an assessed price of 300,000 francs!"
Shire immediately raised his hands in surrender; the 200,000 francs difference was unreasonable, though it was also in accordance with the procedure.
Seeing Shire's helpless look, Gallieni nodded contentedly and shifted the topic to the war: "Antwerp has fallen, just last night, the Germans blew up Wavre Castle and destroyed the water supply system. People panicked, and they had to choose to evacuate Antwerp!"
This was within Shire's expectation. He only asked, "What about the King?"
