“Why?”
“In the public interest.”
The laugh of the Colossus was derisive. “In other words, Bennet Gage finds life too agreeable to endanger it lightly.”
That went to the root of the matter, no doubt. But Mr. Hartz softened the thrust a little by offering his cigar case with the air of a good fellow which he had the valuable faculty of assuming on all occasions. As he chose a cigar for himself, he became the soul of geniality, but Mr. Gage who knew him only too well was not able to respond.
“Why, you are worse than those duds at Scotland Yard, my friend.” The gayety, if not exactly forced, did not seem altogether spontaneous. “If you like, I’ll make you a present of a pair of snowboots lined with fur. They are the only things for your complaint. And I hear you can get bedsocks at a reasonable price at Selfridge’s white sale.”
The Chief lit his cigar. Suddenly he began to smoke furiously. Mr. Gage, who had declined a cigar, indulged in odd, nervous little fumbles with his hands.
“The Planet must take a strong line to-morrow.” Saul Hartz’s tone was plenary. “Report the inquest fully. Have all the known facts in this case and the other two cases got up carefully, and embody them in a series of articles, to synchronize with the inquest. The Murder of William Garland will make a good caption. Norton or Lewis—I think perhaps Norton had better write it. Let him come to me in half an hour and I’ll give him my ideas on the subject.”
Dismissal was in the tone. Saul Hartz had no punctilio with the men he employed, no matter how eminent they might be in their own sphere. Even if he did not parade the fact that he was the most important person in the western hemisphere, he liked it clearly to be understood in all matters of domestic administration that his whim was law.
Bennet Gage was frankly distressed. His regard for the Chief was akin to idolatry, but this was a matter on which he felt bound to hold his ground. It was due to them both that he should do so. But it was far from the habit of the Colossus to take advice and the knowledge of this fact often embarrassed those who had to deal with him.
“Must we go into this matter at once?” The question was more tentative than was warranted by Mr. Gage’s state of mind, but to come out into the open would be fatal.