"Whe-ew-ew!" whistled Lee, a light breaking on him. "What a mule's head I've been!"
"You see the chance, eh?" asked the lawyer.
"Lookee here," said Deane, taking him confidentially by the arm: "I don't mind letting you into a secret if you'll keep dark."
The lawyer nodded gravely.
"You can make a pot of money out of it," continued Deane.
It was not exactly the line of suggestion anticipated, and it was Mr. Winnett's turn to ask "How?"
"I've strictly private and confidential information, you know—"
"Of course, of course," acquiesced the lawyer.
"That the other side is devilish hard up," said Deane in an emphatic whisper. "See 'em privately on that p'int. It's no use talking to us: we're flush."
With that he strode abruptly into the dark, leaving Mr. Winnett to puzzle out whether he had just heard a serious proposition or had been subjected to the hoax of a solemn wag.