Louden Powers turned on him with a snarl.
“What for? And how are you going to do it? Do you want to give up your thousand dollars?”
“I might not have to do that.”
“Yes, you would. And they would expect Lampton and me to do the same. Well, I won’t do it. Neither will Lampton. All we can do is to keep these people out till the police get here.”
“You haven’t telephoned the police, have you?” asked Lampton, with a look of alarm.
Louden Powers contrived to wink at Lampton, while, in a loud tone, he replied:
“Of course I have. We may not be able to hold off this crowd ourselves, and we’ve got to have the police. You can see that, Howard.”
“I don’t see anything, except that you have got me into an infernal scrape with your Paradise City idea. What is the use of it, just for a little ready money now, when we shall have plenty of it as soon as the estate is settled. I was a fool to give in to you.”
“I don’t know that,” put in Lampton. “Things are getting mighty hot in this house, and I’m inclined to get away from it while the going is good. What was the meaning of all that fuss last night? Who were those two men who looked so much like the two Howard Milmarshes?”