"That's right!" he exploded excitedly. "I'll bet it was him.
I wondered why I went off to sleep like that. Well, about two o'clock he came downstairs — said he was looking for something to read because he couldn't get to sleep — and got me to have a drink with him. It was just after he went upstairs again that I fell off. That drink must 've been doped!"
De Beaucroix looked from side to side, and his face twitched. He made a sudden grab at his pocket; but Teal was too quick for him.
Simon Templar hitched himself off the armchair as the brief scuffle subsided.
"Well, that seems to be that," he observed languidly. "You'll have to wait for another chance, Claud. Go home and take some lessons in detecting, and you may do better next time." He looked at Vascoe. "I'll see my lawyers later and find out what sort of a suit we can cook up on account of all the rude things you've been saying, but meanwhile I'll collect my check from Morgan Dean." Then he turned to Meryl. "I'm going to lend Bill Fulton the profits to pay off his debts with," he said. "I shall expect a small interest in his invention, and a large slice of wedding cake."
Before she could say anything he was gone. Thanks didn't interest him: he wanted breakfast
Part VI
The star producers
Mr. Homer Quarterstone was not, to be candid, a name to conjure with in the world of the Theatre. It must be admitted that his experience behind the footlights was not entirely confined to that immortal line: "Dinner is served." As a matter of fact, he had once said "The Baron is here" and "Will there be anything further, madam?" in the same act; and in another never-to-be-forgotten drama which had run for eighteen performances on Broadway, he had taken part in the following classic dialogue:
Nick: Were you here? Jenkins (Mr. Homer Quarterstone) : No sir. Nick: Did you hear anything? Jenkins: No sir. Nick: A hell of a lot of use you are. Jenkins: Yes sir. (Exit, carrying tray.)