"Circumstances, my dear fellow, are all there is to life."
"Want to wash your paws?"
"No—I am as clean as I shall ever be."
I put my arm through his and allowed him to lead me to a quiet table in the rear of the billiard room, softly illumined by a shaded lamp at midday.
"What a delightful place!" I exclaimed. "Residence of Q.T. tranquillity."
"Tranquillity be blowed," he grunted, as he sat down facing me. "What are you going to do about that Old Man of the Sea of yours?"
"You mean Pendleton?"
"Whom the devil else can I mean?"
"Why, nothing of course, but give him a leg up if we can. What else is there to do? I just received a letter this morning from an insurance company asking for confidential information about him. He's given me as a reference and they're evidently considering him."
"The Danbury and Phoenix?" he asked.