Freeman

The plaintiff, a licensed real estate broker, and the defendant, on the twelfth day of October, 1920, entered into a written agreement whereby the first named was employed and authorized by the latter to sell for him (defendant) 110 acres of land, situated in the county of Sutter, for the sum of $450 per acre, the plaintiff to have the exclusive right to negotiate such sale for the term of sixty days from the date of the execution of the agreement and was to receive as compensation for his services so performed a commission of five per cent of the aggregate indicated purchase price of said land. On November 10, 1920, the plaintiff having previously conducted negotiations leading thereto, the following offer or proposal to purchase said land was addressed to the plaintiff by Ritz-Fasig Company, a copartnership:

On the day that the foregoing offer was delivered to plaintiff the sum of $500 was paid to him by the Ritz-Fasig Com pany as an earnest for the fulfillment of the obligations or terms contained in said letter and the following instrument thereupon execúted by the said plaintiff and which, as will be observed, was approved by the defendant:

The plaintiff, claiming that he…