"Well, I can't pay more than $10 a day, and I can't pay that very long. We're under heavy expenses here and in Baltimore."
"You ought to economize, Mrs. Graham," Langford advised. "Remember, this special income can't last forever. The boy is past 10 years old now, and if nobody takes it away from you earlier, it will stop when he is 21."
"Take it away!" Mrs. Graham exclaimed in a startled manner, indicating that her apprehension had not carried her imagination as far as this.
"Sure-why not?" the lawyer returned. "What do you think all this talk about spies has been leading up to?-a Christmas present? If Mrs. Hutchins is suspicious enough to send a lot of spies here to get the goods on you, don't you think she has some notion of taking some sort of drastic action?"
"What kind of 'goods' does she expect to get on me?" the woman inquired.
"Can't you guess?"
"I can't imagine, dream, or suspect."
"Just hurry things along to an agreement tween you and me, and I'll tell you."
"I'll give you $10 a day and reasonable expenses. That doesn't include your board; only your carfare and such incidentals when you're away from home. That is all conditioned, of course, on your proving to my satisfaction that you have the information you say you have. There's no use of my fighting for this income if I have to pay it all out without getting my benefit from it."
"I'll try not to be so hard on you as all that," Langford reassured the woman. "I accept your offer, although it's the minimum I would consider. I suppose you are prepared to give me a check today?"