The detective stared at Mr. Prohack in a way to reduce his facile self-satisfaction.
"What I wish to know from you, sir, personally, is whether you want this affair to be hushed up, or not."
"Hushed up?" repeated Mr. Prohack, to whom the singular suggestion opened out new and sinister avenues of speculation. "Why hushed up?"
"Most of the cases we deal with have to be hushed up sooner or later," answered the detective. "I only wanted to know where I was."
"How interesting your work must be," observed Mr. Prohack, with quick sympathetic enthusiasm. "I expect you love it. How did you get into it? Did you serve an apprenticeship? I've often wondered about you private detectives. It's a marvellous life."
"I got into it through meeting a man in the Piccadilly Tube. As for liking it, I shouldn't like any work."
"But some people love their work."
"So I've heard," said the detective sceptically. "Then I take it you do want the matter smothered?"
"But you've telephoned to Scotland Yard about it," said Mr. Prohack. "We can't hush it up after that."
"I told them," replied the detective grimly, indicating with his head the whole world of the house. "I told them I was telephoning to Scotland Yard; but I wasn't. I was telephoning to our head-office. Then am I to take it you want to find out all you can, but you want it smothered?"