The question of credibility was one to be determined by the court, and the rule of law is that where the testimony is contradictory, the judge who hears the case without a jury has the burden of passing upon the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be afforded their testimony, and the finding of the trial court will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is manifestly against the weight of the evidence. Wilcox v. Andrews, 150 Ill. App. 27. [4] Inasmuch as the question of the existence of any agency contract, either expressed or implied, was for the trial judge to determine, after having observed the witnesses and heard the evidence, and since we are of the opinion that the trial court's decision in this case cannot be said to be against the manifest weight of the evidence the judgment of the trial court will be affirmed.
As was aptly said in Watts v. Howard Calkins, 51 Ill. App. 243, where a broker was employed to sell real estate at a fixed price: "In endeavoring to persuade his principal to take less than the price at which he has authorized a sale, he is not so much serving his employer as a would-be purchaser." Pertinent also is the opinion in Morton v. Barney, 140 Ill. App. 333, where a broker approached an owner through letters suggesting possible purchasers to whom he had offered the property; the owner subsequently disposed of the property elsewhere. It was held that it takes two persons to make a contract and the owner was under no obligation to respond to every letter of a real estate broker whom he had not employed. Much the same situation was involved in Wilcox v. Andrews, 150 Ill. App. 27, and Bunn v. Smith, 190 Ill. App. 530, and other cases. In Carlson v. Nathan, 43 Ill. App. 364, the broker was unable to secure an offer which the owner of the property would accept; more than a month thereafter the principals met and were introduced to each other by a banker, and after some time they finally agreed upon a trade.