“Not in the least,” said Joe, whose nature was too large to cherish a grudge. “Any man is liable to say what he doesn’t mean when things aren’t going just right. Just forget all about it.”
He pointed to a chair opposite.
“Sit down and have a cup of coffee with me,” he invited. “I was just going to order one for myself to finish up with.”
Hartley accepted the invitation and Joe signaled the waiter and gave the order. They chatted on various topics until the coffee was placed before them. Hartley motioned the waiter to put the cups down near him.
“I’ve got the sugar and cream right here,” he said, lightly. “How many lumps of sugar, Matson?”
“Two will do,” answered Joe, “and just a drop of cream.”
Hartley dropped two cubes in Joe’s cup and at the same time slipped in a tiny white tablet that he had extracted from his vest pocket.
“There you are,” he said, as he passed the cup over.
He swallowed the contents of his own cup with a gulp.