“Nor I yours,” the masked man retorted coldly.
Chick felt almost inclined to laugh. He would have done so, if the case engaging him had been a less serious one, his mission less important, and with no occasion to conceal his visit. He frowned, instead, however, and shaped another course.
“You’d better change your mind,” he advised. “If you don’t——”
“Hold on,” snapped the “mask.” “Don’t you reach for a gun. I can pull one as quickly as you and shoot as straight. You keep your empty hand in sight or you’ll be a dead one.”
“You do the same, then,” Chick said sharply.
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“Watch your step, then, and see that you don’t slip.”
“I’ll watch you, all right. You can bet on that.”
“You talk like a crook,” said Chick tentatively.
“You’ve got nothing on me in that respect,” the mask retorted dryly. “You sneaked in here like a thief.”