Julius’s bald head shone like smooth wet coral.
“How very interesting!” he said softly. “Do you wish to tell us anything more?”
“Anything you like... Of course, when I knew you were here I wanted to snoop around. So I took a little trouble to get into the next-door ranch. I didn’t know at the time that they were so very closely connected. But when I heard about the previous owner’s unfortunate accident, I did begin to wonder.”
“And then?”
Valmon’s modulated tenor was a melodic organ-note of challenge. His lips had drawn apart in a set way that bared his glistening teeth.
The Saint inhaled and blew out a leisured drift of curling smoke.
“Then, you were so anxious to buy the Circle Y. In fact, you were more than anxious — you insisted. Quite rudely. I thought your technique was rather crude at the time, and I didn’t see why you had to be so corny. And there was all that yawp about damming the stream, with all the trimmings straight out of Hopalong Cassidy. There had to be something phony about that but I couldn’t get it at first.”
“And now you know all about it,” suggested Julius.
“I think so — since I came this way tonight.”
“We are waiting breathlessly.”