第5章

“Itwasyouyourself，“Mr。Sabinremindedhim，“whobeggedmenottoenterintoparticulars。YousentmeontoMr。Skinner。Itoldhimeverything。“

Mr。Horserleanedoverthetable。Hiseyeswerebloodshot，histonewasfierceandthreatening。Mr。Sabinwascoldlycourteous。

Thedifferencebetweenthedemeanourofthetwomenwasremarkable。

“Youknewwhatthoselettersmeant！Thisisaplot！WhereisSkinner’sreport？“

Mr。Sabinraisedhiseyebrows。Hesignaledtothehead-waiter。

“Besogoodastocontinuetheserviceofmydinner，“heordered。

“Thechampagneisatrifletoochilled。Youcantakeitoutofthecooler。“

Themanbowed，withacurioussideglanceatHorser。

“Certainly，yourGrace！“

Horserwasalmostspeechlesswithanger。

“Areyougoingtoanswermyquestions？“hedemandedthickly。

“Ihavenoparticularobjectiontodoingso，“Mr。Sabinanswered，“butuntilyoucansitupandcomposeyourselflikeanordinaryindividual，Ideclinetoenterintoanyconversationwithyouatall。“

AgainMr。Horserraisedhisvoice，andtheglareinhiseyeswasliketheglareofawildbeast。

“DoyouknowwhoIam？“heasked。“Doyouknowwhoyou’retalkingto？“

Mr。Sabinlookedathimcoolly，andfingeredhiswineglass。

“Well，“hesaid，“I’veashockingmemoryfornames，butyoursis-Mr。Horser，isn’tit？Ihearditforthefirsttimethismorning，andmymemorywillgenerallycarrymethroughfour-and-twentyhours。“

Therewasamoment’ssilence。Horserwasnofool。Heacceptedhisdefeatanddroppedthebully。

“You’reastrangerinthiscity，Mr。Sabin，andIguessyouaren’taltogetheracquaintedwithourwaysyet，“hesaid。“ButIwantyoutounderstandthis。Thereportwhichisinyourpockethasgottobereturnedtome。IfI’dknownwhatIwasmeddlingwithIwouldn’thavetouchedyourbusinessforahundredthousanddollars。It’sgottobereturnedtome，Isay！“herepeatedinamorethreateningtone。

Mr。Sabinhelpedhimselftofish，andmadeacarefulexaminationofthesauce。

“Afterall，“hesaidmeditatively，“IamnotsurethatIwaswiseininsistinguponasaucepiquante。Ibegyourpardon，Mr。Horser。

Pleasedonotthinkmeinattentive，butIamveryhungry。So，I

believe，ismyfriend，Mr。Skinner。Willyounotjoinus-orperhapsyouhavealreadydined？“

TherewasanuglyflushinMr。Horser’scheeks，buthestruggledtokeephiscomposure。

“Willyougivemebackthatreport？“

“WhenIhavereadit，withpleasure，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Before，no。“

Mr。Horserswallowedanexceedinglyviciousoath。Hestruckthetablelightlywithhisforefinger。

“Lookhere，“hesaid。“Ifyou’dlivedinNewYorkacoupleofyears，evenacoupleofmonths，youwouldn’ttalklikethat。ItellyouthatIholdthegovernmentofthiscityinmyrighthand。I

don’twanttobeunpleasant，butifthatpaperisnotinmyhandsbythetimeyouleavethistableIshallhaveyouarrestedasyouleavethisroom，andthepaperstakenfromyou。“

“Dearme，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“thisisserious。OnwhatchargemayI

askshouldIbeexposedtothisinconvenience？“

“Chargebedamned！“Mr。Horseranswered。“Thepolicedon’twantparticularsfromme。WhenIsaydoathingtheydoit。Theyknowthatiftheydeclineditwouldbetheirlastdayontheforce。“

Mr。Sabinfilledhisglassandleanedbackinhischair。

“This，“heremarked，“isinteresting。Iamalwaysgladtohavetheopportunityofgaininganinsightintothecustomsofdifferentcountries。IhadanideathatAmericawasacountryremarkablefortheamountoflibertyenjoyedbyitsinhabitants。Yourproposedcourseofactionseemsscarcelyinkeepingwiththis。“

“Whatareyougoingtodo？Come，I’vegottohaveananswer。“

“Idon’tquiteunderstand，“Mr。Sabinremarked，withapuzzledlook，“whatyourofficialpositionisinconnectionwiththepolice。“

Mr。Horser’sfacewasaveryuglysight。“Oh，cursemyofficialposition，“heexclaimedthickly。“IfyouwantproofofwhatIsayyoushallhaveitinlessthanfiveminutes。Skinner，beoffandfetchacoupleofconstables。“

“Ireallymustprotest，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Mr。Skinnerismyguest，andIwillnothavehimtreatedinthisfashion，justastheterrapiniscomingin，too。Sitdown，Mr。Skinner，sitdown。I

willsettlethismatterwithyouinmyroom，Mr。Horser，afterI

havedined。Iwillnotevendiscussitbefore。“

Mr。Horseropenedhismouthtwice，andcloseditagain。Heknewthathisopponentwassimplyplayingtogaintime，but，afterall，heheldthetrumpcard。Hecouldaffordtowait。Heturnedtoawaiterandorderedacigar。Mr。SabinandMr。Skinnercontinuedtheirdinner。

Conversationwasalittledifficult，thoughMr。Sabinshowednosignsofanimpairedappetite。Skinnerwaswhitewithfear，andglancedeverynowandthennervouslyathischief。Mr。Horsersmokedwithoutceasing，andmaintainedanominoussilence。Mr。

Sabinatlast，withasigh，rose，andlightingacigarette，tookhisstickfromthewaiterandpreparedtoleave。

“Ifear，Mr。Horser，“heremarked，“thatyourpresencehasscarcelycontributedtothecheerfulnessofourrepast。Mr。Skinner，amI

tobefavouredwithyourcompanyalsoupstairs？“

Horserclutchedthatgentleman’sarmandwhisperedafewwordsinhisear。

“Mr。Skinner，“hesaid，“willjoinuspresently。Whatisyournumber？“

“336，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Youwillexcusemysomewhatslowprogress。“

Theycrossedthehallandenteredtheelevator。Mr。Horser’sfacebegantoclear。InamomentortwotheywouldbeinMr。Sabin’ssitting-room-alone。Heregardedwithsatisfactiontheother’sslim，delicatefigureandthelimpwithwhichhemoved。Hefeltthatthedangerwasalreadyover。

BUT，afterall，thingsdidnotexactlyturnoutasMr。Horserhadimagined。Thesightoftheemptyroomandthecloseddoorweresatisfactoryenough，andhedidnothesitateforamoment。

“Lookhere，sir，“hesaid，“youandIaregoingtosettlethismatterquick。WhateveryoupaidSkinneryoucanhavebackagain。

ButI’mgoingtohavethatreport。“

Hetookaquickstepforwardwithupliftedhand-andlookedintotheshiningmuzzleofatinyrevolver。BehinditMr。Sabin’sface，nolongerpleasantandcourteous，hadtakentoitselfsomeverygrimlines。

“Iamaweakman，Mr。Horser，butIamneverwithoutthemeansofself-defence，“Mr。Sabinsaidinastill，coldtone。“Besogoodastositdowninthateasy-chair。“

Mr。Horserhesitated。Foronemomenthestoodasthoughabouttocarryouthisfirstintention。Hestoodglaringathisopponent，hisfacecontractedintoasnarl，hiswholeappearancehideous，almostbestial。Mr。Sabinsmileduponhimcontemptuously-themaddening，compellingsmileofthebornaristocrat。

“Sitdown！“

Mr。Horsersatdown，whereuponMr。Sabinfollowedsuit。

“Nowwhathaveyoutosaytome？“Mr。Sabinaskedquietly。

“Iwantthatreport，“wasthedoggedanswer。

“Youwillnothaveit，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Youcantakethatforgranted。Youshallnottakeitfrommebyforce，andIwillseethatyoudonotcharmitoutofmypocketbyothermeans。Theinformationwhichitcontainsisoftheutmostpossibleimportancetome。Ihaveboughtitandpaidforit，andIshalluseit。“

Mr。Horsermoistenedhisdrylips。

“Iwillgiveyou，“hesaid，“twentythousanddollarsforitsreturn。“

Mr。Sabinlaughedsoftly。

“Youbidhigh，“hesaid。“Ibegintosuspectthatourfriendsontheothersideofthewaterhavebeenmorethanordinarilykindtoyou。“

“Iwillgiveyou-fortythousanddollars。“

Mr。Sabinraisedhiseyebrows。

“Somuch？Afterall，thatsoundsmorelikefearthananything。

Youcannothopetomakeaprofitabledealoutofthat。Dearme！

ItseemsonlyafewminutesagothatIheardyourinterestingfriend，Mr。Skinner，shakewithlaughteratthementionofsuchathingasasecretsociety。“

“Skinnerisablastedfool，“Horserexclaimedfiercely。“Listenhere，Mr。Sabin。Youcanreadthatreportifyoumust，but，asI’malivingmanyou’llnotstirfromNewYorkifyoudo。I’llmakeyourlifeahellforyou。Don’tyouunderstandthatnoonebutabornfoolwoulddaretoquarrelwithmeinthiscity？I

holdtheprisonkeys，thepolicearemine。Ishallmakemyowncharge，whateverIchoose，andtheyshallproveitforme。“

Mr。Sabinshookhishead。