"He's a disappointment to me in a way," added Ladd, unconscious of the hiatus.
"Who?"
"Calthorpe. Didn't think he'd give her up without a struggle. She's worth fighting for. Most pretty women are just pretty. She's got something behind it, something sort of tantalizing."
He said this mentally, groping for what it was.
Cadger lifted his head from his figures to shift another curious glance at the agent, but he did not reply.
"I somehow imagined that Calthorpe thought enough of the girl to pay us a visit."
"Why should he?" said Cadger, not looking up and continuing to reckon his gains. "When your worst enemy's a barber, why sit down in his chair and invite him to shave you?"
"You heard what he said?" suggested the agent.
"You bet I did. He handed you a bunch of roses all right. I'm kind o' hard of hearin' but I heard it. He said it loud enough fer 'em to hear it in Washington."
"I'm not afraid of Washington so long as Senator Plumtree and Senator Wilkins are on the job. I hear that Judge Walker wants to go back to his law practice, and if he does, Whittaker'll leave the Land Office to be Secretary of the Interior. Our people aren't losing any tricks."