The door opened slowly under the impulse of the slender womanish hand.
"You have a task of some magnitude before you, Mr. Kent. You can scarcely hope to accomplish it alone."
"Meaning that you would like to know if the fight will go on if I should chance to meet another drunken cow-boy with a better aim? It will."
The door closed softly behind the retreating figure of the attorney-general, and Kent released the spring of the night-latch. Then he went to the dropped portière at the farther end of the room, drew it aside and looked in on a man who was writing at a table pushed out between the windows.
"You heard him, Loring?" he asked.
The ex-manager nodded.
"They are hard pressed," he said. Then, looking up quickly: "You could name your price if you wanted to close out the stock of goods in hand, David."
"I shall name it when the time comes. Are you ready to go over to the Argus office with me? I want to have a three-cornered talk with Hildreth."
"In a minute. I'll join you in the lobby if you don't want to wait."