I have to depend on them a great deal.

So you can see that I couldn't do anything without first consulting them." Sanderson left Lazette in disgust.

It was not until after he had tried in Dry Bottom and Las Vegas that he realized how subtle and far-reaching was the power and influence of the financial rulers of Okar.
"We should like to let you have the money," the Las Vegas banker told him.

"But, unfortunately, a loan to you would conflict with our interests in Okar.

We know the big men in Okar have been considering the water question in the basin, and we should not like to antagonize them." The trip consumed two weeks, and Sanderson returned to the Double A to discover that during his absence very little work had been done.
"It looks like we're up against it," Williams informed him when pressed for an explanation.