He gave the woman his “silver threads among the gold” smile and asked the elevator boy:
“Is the main corridor above this?”
“Yes, sir. Lost? It’s easy to get lost around here.”
They reached the main floor and Matt Higgins stepped from the elevator and began walking toward the entrance from the main corridor to the Administration Building.
He was dead tired....
But when he saw Dr. Henry MacArthur, through the open door of his office, he knew that whatever he had just been through he must hide.
The last man he had seen with that look of steely panic was the president of the bank in Wall Street during the first days of the 1929 collapse. That kind of panic was followed by icicles of fear in the brain and after that....
“Good morning, Doctor,” his voice was calm and confident.
With its tone, MacArthur’s courtesy revived, but it was automatic. He rose with an obvious effort and motioned the detective to a chair, closed the door into the corridor, and offered Higgins a cigarette.
“Thanks.”