Potter heard three raps, a pause, then two raps. In a moment the door opened silently and the men stepped inside. The door swung to after them. In a moment a dim fight flowed within, and Potter made his way to a window in the side. Peering through, he could see Philip, the chauffeur, and the two men. The backs of the men were toward him and he could not see their faces. He listened. Faintly their voices reached his ear.
“Pay-day to-morrow night,” said one of the men.
“And see you pay,” Philip said. “Don’t let any of this stick to your fingers.”
“The men that earn it git it,” said the man.
Philip shrugged his shoulders. “So long as we get what we pay for, I don’t care where the money goes.”
“If you’re afraid, you better pay off yourself.”
“Fine chance,” Philip said. “Enough people know me now. So long as we pay through you—and the others—they don’t get to know too much.”
“If they get nabbed they can’t give anybody away but us,” said the man. “Fine for us, isn’t it?”
“They haven’t been nabbed yet.... And say, Harker, I want more for my money out of you. The last week your crowd hasn’t earned its salt. If the Waite plant isn’t better taken care of, we’ll have somebody else in charge.”
“It’s a tough job. That young Waite has the men buffaloed. Now we have to look out for the spotters and for every man in the place. They’re all on the watch. It’s a wonder we pull off as much as we do.”