My secretary turned her back, gave a sort of dip-dive-and-wiggle and produced from God knows where a half pint bottle of what proved to be excellent brandy, well-warmed above room temperature. I heartlessly refused to notice Vail's pathetic signs of desperate thirst and passed the flask back to Arthurjean. "Thanks," I told her, "that just about saved my life."
"Mr. Vail was all set that the doctors had hijacked you and were holding you for ransom," she remarked, taking a short but deep drink herself. "Seems like there's been a mistake."
"Uh-uh!" I indicated strong disagreement. "I came here under my own power and am about to leave under the same and in my right mind."
"Whoever said you weren't?" Vail demanded. "God! we'll sue them for libel."
I shook my head. "It was the Secret Service and only God can sue them," I said. "They took a notion to have me thrown in the Washington asylum because they were sore at me on general principles. So I decided to beat them to the draw and produce a certificate of sanity."
Vail looked at me with amusement. "Worst thing you could possibly do, old man," he informed me. "If you start going around showing people proof that you're not crazy, first thing you know you'll be in Matteawan. Now if you want to prove to anybody that you're really in your right mind, you'll try to do the right thing by this little girl here."
In some bewilderment I looked at Arthurjean, whom nobody could accurately accuse of being little.
"What are you driving at, Merry?" I asked.
"I refer to my client, Miss Briggs," he replied with dignity. "We have strong written evidence of breach of promise."
"Sugar-puss?" I turned to my secretary, "Don't tell me that you've shown my letters to this legal lout?"