"I don't know what you're after, but I do know one thing. I can stand on my constitutional rights. Unless you have any formal charges to bring against me, I don't have to say anything to you. Good day, gentlemen."
"Well," Harrison said.
"Ho-hum," Smith said.
The two young men got lazily to their feet and eyed the jittering Prather without expression for a long time. Then they went away. Prather was also on his way as soon as he could get into a jacket and grab a hat. He flagged a taxi in front of the apartment house, and directed the driver to Dr. Zellermann's Park Avenue offices.
Zellermann was not happy to see him. His long face would have made ice-cubes seem like firecrackers. He chose his words carefully, as if he were picking each one out of a hat.
"And so you led them directly to me. Mr. Prather, I consider this a very ill-advised move on your part."
"I didn't lead them to you. I wasn't followed."
"May I ask just how you know that? In your present condition you wouldn't see an elephant following you." Dr. Zellermann picked up his phone, and dialed a number. "Bring two of your boys with you immediately."
"What — what are you going to do?" Prather asked. He repeated the question three times.
Dr. Zellermann made a triangle with the thumb and forefingers of his two white hands, and rested his chin upon the apex. He looked at James Prather as if he were a subject being discussed by a class in zoology.