was fun stalling them on the phone. ^:
But the real fun Sunday came in the middle of the afternoon. Someone had leaked on Hibbard's disappearance and the Sunday papeerhad it, though they didn't give it a heavy play. When the doorbell rang around three o'clock and I answered it because I happened to be handy and Fritz was busy out back, and I saw two huskies standing there shoulder to shoulder, I surmised at first glance it was a couple of bureau dicks and someone had got curious about me up at Hibbard's the night before. Then I recognized one of them and threw the door wide with a grin…u^i:i…n 'Hello, hello. You late from church?'
The one on the right spoke, the one with a scar on his cheek I had recognized.
'Nero Wolfe in?'
I nodded. 'You want to see him? Leap the doorsill, gentlemen.'
While I was closing the door and putting the chain on they were taking off their hats and coats and hanging them on the rack. Then they were running their hands over their hair and pulling their vests down and clearing their throats.
They were as nervous as greenhorns on their first tail. I was impressed. I was so used to Wolfe myself and so familiar with hiis prowess thaCt I was apt to forget the dents some of his strokes had made on some tough professional skulls. I asked them to wait in the hall and went to the office and told Wolfe that Del Bascom of the Bascom Detective Agency was there with one of his men and wanted to see him.
'Did you ask them what they wanted?'
'No.'; '^
Wolfe nodded, and I went out and brought them in. Bascom went across to the desk to shake hands; the other gentleman got his big rumpus onto a chair I shoved up, but nearly missed it on the way down on account of staring at Wolfe.
I suspected he wasn't overwhelmed by prestige as much as he was by avoirdupois, having never seen Wolfe before. I Bascom was saying, 'It's been nearly | two years since I've seen you, Mr. Wolfe.
Remember? The hay fever case. That's what I called it. Remember the clerk that didn't see the guy lifting the emeralds because he was sneezing?' ^ B'l do indeed, Mr. Bascom. That young man had invention, to employ so common an affliction for so unusual a purpose.'.
'Yeah. cLots of 'em are smart, but very few of them is quite smart enough. That was quite a case. I'd have been left scratching my ear for a bite if it hadn't been for you. I'll never forget that. Is business pretty good with you, Mr.
Wolfe?'
'No. Abominable.'
'I suppose so. We've got to expect it.
Some of the agencies are doing pretty well on industrial work, but I never got into that. I used to be a workingman myself.
Hell, I still am.' Bascom crossed his legs and cleared his throat. 'You taken on anything new lately? ' ^ n 'No.' i-''You haven't?';
'No.'
I nearly jumped at the squeak, it was so unexpected. It came from the other dick, his chair between Bascom and me. He squeaked all of a sudden:
'I heard different.'
'Well, who opened your valve?'
Bascom glared at him, disgusted. 'Did I request you to clamp your trap when we came in here?' He turned to Wolfe. 'Do you know what's eating him? You'll enjoy this, Mr. Wolfe. He's heard a lot of talk about the great Nero Wolfe, and he wanted to show you haven't got him buffaloed.' He shifted and turned on the glare again. 'You sap.'
Wolfe nodded. 'Yes, I enjoy that. I like bravado. You were saying, Mr. Bascom?'
'Yeah. I might as well come to the point. It's like this. I'm on a case. I've got five men on it. I'm pulling down close to a thousand dollars a week, four weeks now. When I wind it up I'll get a fee that will keep me off of relief all winter. I'm getting it sewed up. About all I need now is some wrapping paper and a piece of string.'
'That's fine.'
'All of that. And what I'm here for is to ask you to lay off.'
Wolfe's brows went up a shade. 'To ask me?'
'To lay off.' Bascom slid forward in his chair and got earnest. 'Look here, Mr. Wolfe. It's the Chapin case. I've been on it for four weeks. Pratt and Cabot and gDr. Burton are paying me – that's no secret, or if it was, it wouldn't be for you after Monday. Pratt's a sort of a friend of mine. I've done him a good turn or two.
He phoned me last night and said if I wanted to hang my own price tag on Paul Chapin I'd better get a move on because Nero Wolfe was about to begin. That was how I found out about the telegrams you sent. I dusted around and saw Burton and Cabot and one or two others. Burton had never heard of you before and asked me to get a report on you, but he phoned me this morning and told me not to bother. I suppose he had inquired and got an earful.'
Wolfe murmured, (‹I am gratified at the interest they displayed.'
'I don't doubt it.' Bascom laid a fist on the desk for emphasis and got more earnest still. 'Mr. Wolfe. I want to speak to you as one professional man to another. You would be the first to agree that ours is a dignified profession.'
