"Perhaps not. But others have, with whom he herds. For example, Mr. Morphew."
"Morphy!" Folly laughed the notion to scorn—"the King of the Bootleggers makes too much money, he doesn't need to levy blackmail."
"It may be merely a hobby of his," Lanyard submitted reasonably; "or perhaps he's keeping his hand in order to have a good trade to fall back on if ever anything happens to upset the Eighteenth Amendment."
"You aren't serious, Mr. Lanyard?"
"Madame: I know."
"How can you?"
"Your American courts permit a witness to refuse to answer leading questions on the ground that his testimony might tend to incriminate or degrade."
"You mean Morphy's trying to blackmail you? What a wicked life you must have led!"
"I don't deny that; but rest assured, I admit it only to convince you I am not guessing. You will do well, believe me, madame, to avoid hereafter Mr. Morphew and all his crew."
"Mally and Peter Pagan and Liane Delorme? And they've been such fun! What's the matter with Liane?"