"Go on, then," she repeated. "What do you want to talk about? Since you wish to talk things over calmly, what did, you come here for, anyhow?"
"I came," said Nick, "believing that you were in the city, and knowing that I would find you here if you were, I came because I was determined to find out where you were, and to put a stop to your career."
She started savagely, but Nick held up his hand and hushed her.
"I am not going to make any arrests in this place, Madge. I am not going to interfere with Mike Grinnel's business, or with his reputation for affording security to his patrons. If every person in this room was my friend instead of my enemy, you, Madge, would be as free to depart in peace when you get ready to do so as you would have been had I not come here."
"That all sounds very fine," she said, "if only I cared to believe it."
"Believe it or not, as you please, it is the truth."
"And what did you come here for?"
"I have told you that already. I came to find you."
"And, having found me, to let me go away in peace?"
"I have said that also, I believe."