There was anxiety in Mattern’s eyes.
“Friend of mine,” Mason went on. “You know, the government has quite a system. If anyone gives ’em a tip on an income tax evasion, the government will investigate, and if they recover a tax on the strength of that tip, they’ll pay a reward amounting to a percentage of the tax. You can’t fool the government, you know. They can examine the records of banks and the books of corporations… Well, I’ll be running along, Mattern.”
Mattern said, “Hey, wait a minute. You aren’t going to tell this man Gilliland anything about me?”
“Why not?” Mason asked.
“Because— Well, because under the circumstances that would be the hell of a thing to do.”
“Why?”
“Haven’t I co-operated with you?”
Mason said, “It’s all right, Mattern. There’s nothing to worry about. If you didn’t get any cut out of that fifty thousand, no one can do a thing to you. Of course, Gilliland will go into the books of the Western Prospecting Company, will scrutinize Bolus’ income tax statement, check the bank records, look into your bank deposits, and work on a few other angles. He’ll make a good job of it.”
Mattern said, “Come back here, Mason. Sit down.”
Mason raised his eyebrows. “Why?”