“Yes. I’ve done that job——”
“What did you find?” Anthony snapped, laying a reassuring hand on the white shoulder beside him. He felt that her whole body was shaking.
The telephone made meaningless cackles.
“What——”
“I said,” came a squeak of a voice, “that the man your message referred to—er—said that it was he who had pulled off that deal you were asking about.”
Anthony flashed a glance at the woman beside him. With surprise and admiration he saw that there were no signs of collapse. The hand which held the extra receiver was steady as his own, the head was held erect. Only the pallor of the face, extending even to the lips, told of the shock.
The telephone had again relapsed into mere cackling and buzzing.
Anthony gave vent to his feelings. “Blast you! Speak more clearly. Go on from where he said that it was his deal.”
“And blast ye, too, scum!” came in a hilarious wheeze. “I said that the extraordinary part of the business was that I found out that the merchant must have—cackle—cackle—bahk-bahk——”
“Hell! Repeat! What did you find out?”