"Then he has learned something already?"
"Oh, that was too easy. Any one can pump a half-drunken sailor."
The private inquiry agent spoke confidentially. He fancied he had secured the sort of aide he needed, a spy of superior intelligence.
"Suppose I give you that first item of news, what is the figure?"
"Say a fiver."
"But I am almost willing to pay that much for the pleasure of spreading your nose over your face."
There was a sudden gap between the two. Perhaps the stranger felt that the rawness of the atmosphere demanded brisk movement.
"Oh, is that it?" snarled he.
"Yes, that is it."
"You had better be careful what you are doing." Dick had advanced a pace, but the agent sheered off twice as far, as though the air between them was not only cold but resilient.