“Then say it,” Stritar told him.
“American dollars in the mountains must not go to the Spirit.”
“There is that risk,” Wolfe admitted, “but I doubt if they’ll be found, and what I have heard of that movement makes it even more doubtful that we will favor it. You’re a man of action, are you, Mr. Zov?”
“I can do things, yes.” The low, smooth voice was silky.
“Peter has earned a reputation,” Stritar said.
“A good thing to have.” Wolfe came back to Stritar. “But if he has in mind prying out of us where the dollars are, it doesn’t seem advisable. We are American citizens, and serious violence to us would be indiscreet; and besides, the bulk of our fortune is in the United States, beyond your reach unless you enlist our sympathy and support.”
“What place in the United States?”
“That’s unimportant.”
“Is Toné Stara your name there?”
“It may be, or maybe not. I can tell you, I understand the kind of power that is typified by Room Nineteen, and it attracts me, but I prefer not to call its attention to my friends and associates in America. It might be inconvenient in case I decide to return and stay.”