“Wait a minute!” Denby cried, holding the money back. “How do I know you won’t take it and then double-cross me?”
“I’ll give you my word for it,” Taylor assured him fervently.
“That security isn’t good enough,” Denby remarked slowly. “We haven’t done business together before, and those two men of yours—are they in on it?”
“Not on your life,” Taylor laughed. “I haven’t split with anybody for five years. This is a one man job, Mr. Denby.”
“That may be,” the other protested, “but they saw you pinch me!”
“I’ll tell them it was all a mistake and I’ve got to call it off. I know the kind of help I want when I’m tackling a one man job.”
“Do you think you can get away with it?” Denby asked doubtfully.
“I always have,” Taylor said simply. “There’s no need for you to get scared.”
Denby still seemed perturbed. “I’ve been hearing a lot about this R. J.,” he told the official. “I don’t like what I’ve heard either. Is he suspicious about you by any chance?”
“What do you know about R. J.?” Taylor asked quickly.