“Of course,” said Jimmy; and Moran nodded.
Clay was silent for a few moments. He would gladly have given ten thousand dollars to settle the matter, but he doubted whether Bethune would take it; and to bid high would rouse suspicion. It looked as if he had accomplished nothing, but he had found out that his opponents were more capable than he had imagined, and he decided that it would be safer to put no further pressure on them. He did not wish them to learn that he was the cause of the trouble they had had in finding employment, as it would indicate that he had some strong reason for preventing their return to the wreck.
“Well,” he said, “it’s a pity we can’t come to terms, but I can make no fresh suggestion. You’re up against a pretty big undertaking.”
“So it seems,” Bethune answered pleasantly. “We’ll have to do the best we can. And now, as we mustn’t take up your time, I’ll bid you good-night.”
Clay let them go, and as they went down the street Jimmy turned to Bethune.
“What do you think of the interview?” he asked.
“A drawn game. Neither side has scored; but I’ve learned two things. The first is that he has no suspicion that we have found the bogus case.”
“How do you infer that?”
“From his view of our character. You must recollect that we’re hard-up adventurers whom he wouldn’t expect to be scrupulous. He’d conclude that if we had found anything suspicious we’d have let him know and tried to sell our secret. He was waiting for some hint, and I was careful to give him none.”
“What’s the next thing?”