Duff said, in a near-whisper, “I see.”
“One more thing. The head of this outfit may be just such a big guy as you keep describing. Six-ten, possibly even seven feet tall — and heavy, besides. He’s been seen. He apparently carries orders or gives orders. The men he sees are apt to move on afterward. To turn up missing.”
“Who is the guy?” Duff asked.
“You tell me!” Higgins was angry for an instant. “Three or four times, in various cities, our men have spotted him making a contact of some sort with somebody. Always at night — probably because he was so big. Conspicuous. So far, he’s eluded us. The people he’s spoken to have been checked. Nothing on any of them — just like Ellings. Loyal Americans.
We don’t care to pick up any of them at this stage of the game. No single one probably knows enough to mean much. Or to point to many others. So we wait. Watch. And, I don’t mind telling you, we worry!”
Duff repeated, “I see.”
The G-man rocked forward abruptly and resumed his ordinary crisp manner. “What I just said, you never heard. The Yates place may have been a freight station. It may have been a mere blind. Tell nobody what I told you. I presume, with Ellings dead, the Yates house is safe enough. It’s now under FBI surveillance, in any case, and that’s also under your hat. Go about your business perfectly normally. Keep your eyes open. If you notice anything, phone here at once. I’ll give you a list of people to talk to, in case I’m out. But don’t — absolutely don’t — try to do anything! If you phone us, be sure you aren’t listened to. That’s all.” He wrote busily for a moment and handed a list of names to Duff. “Memorize it on your way home and then burn it. We don’t want anybody to know that the FBI is interested in you or the Yateses! Understand?”
“I certainly do!” Higgins rose lithely and held out his hand. “Fine! I might add this: We weren’t such chumps as you’ve probably imagined. We didn’t quite believe your tale, but lately we have been watching. Nothing and nobody suspicious has been near the Yates house since you left town. And look. If anything does come out of this, we’ll be grateful. Tips from people like you have helped us before. The tips you gave — that we seemed to brush off — may be a big help now. See?”
Duff saw.
When he went out on the street, his steps had new confidence. A great deal of his life was unsatisfactory: The Yates family was sad and Eleanor was pretty sore at him, or had been, before his trip to New York; he was broke and in debt to Scotty. But he hadn’t been such an utter fool as he had believed. Even though, he suddenly reflected, he couldn’t tell Scotty about that. Not yet, anyway.