"If I was you, man, I'd go sit in a Marilyn Monroe picture until they kicked me out." Hotstuff put his hand to Marc's sleeve. "You still owe me some bucks, boy. Twenty for the pictures and twenty more for the shot of elixir."
"Now, look here," Marc said sternly, "if you think...."
He stopped, for Hotstuff, a businessman of some agility, already had Marc's wallet in his hand and was counting out the money. Marc snatched it back from him.
"Here, now!" he said.
Harold grinned modestly. "Mother taught me how to take up public collections while I was still in rompers. They say I was the cutest little dip that ever worked the Stem."
"Well, this is one stem you're not clipping," Marc said hotly. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"I ain't goin' to leave till I get paid," Hotstuff said without animosity.
"Just a minute." Toffee broke in. "While you two are arguing, time is running down the drain. If we're going to the country we'd better get started."
Marc turned to her with a sigh. "I thought I explained to you that...."
"But I've got it all figured out," Toffee said complacently. "While you've been wasting your time with this grifter, I've been working out a plan."