Winnie flushed.
"The governor would boast, I suppose, as long as I succeeded in keeping out of jail," he observed. "It's a horrible responsibility to be an only son! But what's the big idea? You didn't chivvie me out of bed in the cold gray dawn for nothing!"
Thode beckoned to the solitary waiter, hovering in the pantry doorway, before responding.
"We'd better have some coffee and a bite first. Then I want the news; remember I've been out in the wild and woolly since before the holidays."
When their order had been given, Winnie observed:
"I suppose you've heard about Wiley. He's been down in Mexico and grabbed off a new oil well, the Almas Perderse——"
"The Lost Souls!" Thode's hands clenched, and he drew a deep breath between set teeth. "So he pulled it off, did he? By Jove, I wonder——"
"What?" asked the other after a pause. "Did you know about the well, too?"
Kearn Thode laughed.
"I'd heard of it," he acknowledged. "I wish him joy of his discovery! Is he making headway while the going is good?"