“I never smoke anything but pipes that ruin curtains. You should have given your name to Miss Conover.”
“I was under promise not to explain my business. But before we proceed, an answer. Newspaper?”
“No. I represent the Department of Justice. And we'll get along easier when I add that I possess rather unlimited powers under that head. How did you happen to stumble into this affair?”
“Through Captain Rathbone, my prospective son-in-law, who is in Coblenz. A cable arrived this morning, instructing me to proceed precisely in the manner I did. Rathbone is an intimate friend of the man I was actually seeking. The apartment of this man Gregory was mentioned to Rathbone in a cable as a possible temporary abiding place. What do you want to know?”
“Whether or not he is undesirable.”
“Decidedly, I should say, desirable.”
“You make that statement as an American citizen?”
“I do. I make it unreservedly because my future son-in-law is rather a difficult man to make friends with. I am acting merely as Rathbone's agent. On the other hand, I should be a cheerful liar if I told you I wasn't interested. What do you know?”
“Everything,” answered Cutty, quietly.
“You know where this young man is?”