“But Archie — I am so disturbed—”
“So am I. Hold the fort, Fritz, and sit tight. Put Hibbard on.”
I waited, and before long heard Hibbard’s hello. I said to him:
“This is Archie Goodwin, Mr. Hibbard. Now listen, I can’t talk much. When Nero Wolfe gets home again we want to be able to tell him that you’ve kept your word. You promised him to stay dead until Monday evening. Understand?”
Hibbard sounded irritated. “Of course I understand, Mr. Goodwin, but it seems to me—”
“For God’s sake forget how it seems to you. Either you keep your word or you don’t.”
“Well... I do.”
“That’s fine. Tell Fritz I’ll call again as soon as I have anything to say.”
I hung up. The brown stuff the doctor had given me seemed to be working, but not to much advantage; my head was pounding like the hammers of hell. The elevator man had come back and was standing there. I looked at him and he said Scott’s taxi was gone. I got hold of the phone again and called Spring 7-3100.
Cramer wasn’t in his office and they couldn’t find him around. I got my wallet out of my pocket and with some care managed to find my lists of telephone numbers, and called Cramer’s home. At first they said he wasn’t there, but I persuaded them to change their minds, and finally he came to the phone. I didn’t know a cop’s voice could ever sound so welcome to me. I told him where I was and what had happened to me, and said I was trying to remember what it was he had said that morning about doing a favor for Nero Wolfe. He said whatever it was he had meant it. I told him: