"How much?" asked Allen.
"A t'ousand dollars."
"You are crazy!" cried the broker.
"No I ain't. I mean just wot I say, Allen. I want five hundred from you, an' der udder from Hardwick."
"Supposing we won't pay it?"
"Den I'll tell der police wot I know; I ain't doin' yer work fer nothin'."
And the tough poked his nose close to that of Caleb Allen.
"Nonsense, Tommy!" put in Hardwick. "I agreed to give you a hundred dollars for keeping quiet about what you know, and that's all you'll get."
"Den I'll—wot's dat?"
A loud noise in the outer office startled Macklin. Hal, listening at the door, suddenly found himself in the hands of Parsons and Samuels.