Ebenezer Scrooge on Contract Formation

I consulted several print and on-line versions of Dickens's A Christmas Carol and did not find the following dialogue, nor does it appear in all of the film versions of the tale.  So, I'll attribute it to the Roger O. Hirson's screenplay for the 1984 Hallmark Hall of Fame version of A Christmas Carol, starring the late, great George C. Scott.

Ebenezer Scrooge, delayed on his way to the mercantile exchange by his nephew, Fred Holywell's, unwelcome visit to Scrooge & Marley, arrives shortly before the exchange is to close, whereupon he encounters Messrs. Tipton, Pemberton, and Forbush (none of whom appear in Dickens's text), with whom Scrooge has been negotiating the sale of a quantity of corn.  What follows illustrates the then-prevailing common law rule that an offer made in a face-to-face conversation expires at the end of the conversation unless the offeror indicates otherwise.

Tipton: Ah, Ebenezer. We were afraid you wouldn't come.

Pemberton: It's almost closing, sir.

Scrooge: Well, I'm here, aren't I?

Forbush: I said you'd be here.  [To Tipton and Pemberton] Didn't I say Ebenezer Scrooge would be here?  [To Scrooge] I knew you'd change your mind.

Scrooge: You're right, I have changed my mind.

Tipton: Oh, good.  Then you'll take our bid?

Scrooge: The price has gone up.

Pemberton: Gone up? But that's not possible!

Scrooge: If you want my corn, gentlemen, you must meet my quote ... plus five percent for the delay.

Forbush: That's outrageous, Scrooge. You'll be left with a warehouse stuffed with corn!

Scrooge: Well, that's my affair, isn't it?

Tipton: But if we pay your price, our bread will be dearer. The poor will suffer.

Scrooge: Buy the corn someplace else. Good day, sir.

Pemberton: Scrooge, a moment. We'll take your corn ... at the price you quoted yesterday.

Scrooge: Too late. If you wait until tomorrow, it'll cost you another five percent.

Forbush: Damn it, Scrooge, it's not fair!

Scrooge: No, but it's business. I'll give you a moment to make up your minds.

[The three bidders confer.]

Tipton: All right, Scrooge, done and done!

Scrooge: Very good, gentlemen. Now, make sure that the draft for the entire amount of this transaction is deposited with my clerk. I don't ship until I have the cash in hand.

[Keith A. Rowley]