“Bah! No fear of that, sonny. We’ve got her right there.”
“You can’t ever be sure where a woman is concerned. She might suddenly throw discretion to the winds, and tell her husband all about it. Then you, too, would have to clear right away.”
“Guess I should,” replied Patten. “But I don’t fear her. I mean to get another thousand out of her. Women who make fools of themselves have to pay for it.”
“Well, I must say you engineered it wonderfully,” declared Hoggan.
“And I’ll do so again with a little luck,” his friend declared. “Come and have another cocktail, and then shake the dust of this infernal city off your feet. Every time you have a drink things look different.”
The two men passed into the inner room, where the bar was situated, and after a final Martini each, went out together into the handsome hall of the hotel.
“Wal, so long, old pal! Clear out right away,” whispered Patten, as he shook his friend’s hand.
And next moment Silas P. Hoggan passed across the courtyard and into the busy Strand, once more a fugitive from justice.