Leonard must think the same. I cannot afford to have anything more to do with that jackass. For, you see, Mr. Lowder, I, too, am returning to grace. You and I can't afford the sloppy contacts of the underworld."
Tony came back and stood before him. "If I rejected your offer, Mr. Menzies, I should be making further hash of the hash I've already made of my life. Like Corneille, we must go on for the
gloire.
" Tony now threw back his head and uttered a shout of laughter. It occurred to him in the midst of it that Menzies might understandably take offense. But he didn't. He laughed, too. "Mr. Menzies, I think I may be your man!"
***
He telephoned Max from a pay booth and told him to meet him downstairs in the lobby of his apartment house. Because Menzies had asked him to exclude Max, he could not even wait until the morning to bring him in. They sat on a marble gray bench in the blank gray corridor, watching the cooperative owners, returning from work, walk hurriedly and sightlessly to their elevators. But Max seemed to find what Tony had to say difficult to follow. He scratched his knee; he scratched his ankle.
"I know I can make it now with what we've got," he assured Tony. "Herron's up another five points today."
"Then we're out of the woods. Because I've got the eighty-six hundred."
Max's eyes glittered. "From Lassatta?"
"Hell, no. We're through with Lassatta. For good and all. From here on we work with Menzies. It's not only safer. It pays. And it pays real money."
"Does Lassatta know?"
"What the hell business is it of Lassatta's?"
"Oh, Tony, suppose he finds out."
"How can he find out? And why should I care if he does? We should never have got mixed up with Lassatta in the first place."
Max grasped Tony's hand so tightly that his nails pierced the skin. All his old desperation had returned. "Let go, damn it!" Tony exclaimed in pain as he tore his hand free. "What's come over you, Max? Have you lost your senses?"
"Tony," Max pleaded. "I've told you before, you don't know the kind of men you're dealing with. They'll never let you get away with this. Do you think you can use Jerry Lassatta as a ladder to Lionel Menzies and then just kick him over?"
"I didn't use him as a ladder. Menzies approached me directly. The whole idea was Menzies'."
"That doesn't matter. You found out about Menzies through Lassatta. He set the whole thing up. That's the way he does business. And once he's started something he
never
lets go."
"He should have thought of that when he welshed on the deal he made with us. So far as I'm concerned, he has let go."
"Tony, it won't work, I tell you."
"Max, be realistic. What can he do?"
"He can kill us."
Tony contemplated the pinched lips, the lined brow, the blinking eyes of his friend and reflected that he never should have told him. He should simply have arranged that Max share his profits. He tried now to make some of his old feeling come back by placing his arm around Max's shoulders.
"Steady, old pal."
"Oh, Tony, be reasonable!" And Max, shuddering, uttered a little sob. Tony's heart hardened again, and he removed his arm.
"I don't know how long I can live with this terror of yours."
Max leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and covered his face with his hands. "I don't know how long I can live with it myself," he groaned.
3
On the Saturday after Easter Tony and Lee drove down to the end of Long Island to lunch with the Conways. The sky was so blue and the road so smooth that Tony could not help occasionally bursting into song. Lee was silent.
"If you can't enjoy today, you can't enjoy anything," he reproached her. "It makes one wonder if life was worth living before they invented the automobile."
"The automobile? I thought it was your investments that made you so happy. That stock that sounds like a bird. Herron?"
"Well, of course, I'm glad Herron's going up. And, of course, I'm glad that Horton has submitted my name to the President. I want to be Assistant Secretary of the
Tony came back and stood before him. "If I rejected your offer, Mr. Menzies, I should be making further hash of the hash I've already made of my life. Like Corneille, we must go on for the
gloire.
" Tony now threw back his head and uttered a shout of laughter. It occurred to him in the midst of it that Menzies might understandably take offense. But he didn't. He laughed, too. "Mr. Menzies, I think I may be your man!"
***
He telephoned Max from a pay booth and told him to meet him downstairs in the lobby of his apartment house. Because Menzies had asked him to exclude Max, he could not even wait until the morning to bring him in. They sat on a marble gray bench in the blank gray corridor, watching the cooperative owners, returning from work, walk hurriedly and sightlessly to their elevators. But Max seemed to find what Tony had to say difficult to follow. He scratched his knee; he scratched his ankle.
"I know I can make it now with what we've got," he assured Tony. "Herron's up another five points today."
"Then we're out of the woods. Because I've got the eighty-six hundred."
Max's eyes glittered. "From Lassatta?"
"Hell, no. We're through with Lassatta. For good and all. From here on we work with Menzies. It's not only safer. It pays. And it pays real money."
"Does Lassatta know?"
"What the hell business is it of Lassatta's?"
"Oh, Tony, suppose he finds out."
"How can he find out? And why should I care if he does? We should never have got mixed up with Lassatta in the first place."
Max grasped Tony's hand so tightly that his nails pierced the skin. All his old desperation had returned. "Let go, damn it!" Tony exclaimed in pain as he tore his hand free. "What's come over you, Max? Have you lost your senses?"
"Tony," Max pleaded. "I've told you before, you don't know the kind of men you're dealing with. They'll never let you get away with this. Do you think you can use Jerry Lassatta as a ladder to Lionel Menzies and then just kick him over?"
"I didn't use him as a ladder. Menzies approached me directly. The whole idea was Menzies'."
"That doesn't matter. You found out about Menzies through Lassatta. He set the whole thing up. That's the way he does business. And once he's started something he
never
lets go."
"He should have thought of that when he welshed on the deal he made with us. So far as I'm concerned, he has let go."
"Tony, it won't work, I tell you."
"Max, be realistic. What can he do?"
"He can kill us."
Tony contemplated the pinched lips, the lined brow, the blinking eyes of his friend and reflected that he never should have told him. He should simply have arranged that Max share his profits. He tried now to make some of his old feeling come back by placing his arm around Max's shoulders.
"Steady, old pal."
"Oh, Tony, be reasonable!" And Max, shuddering, uttered a little sob. Tony's heart hardened again, and he removed his arm.
"I don't know how long I can live with this terror of yours."
Max leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and covered his face with his hands. "I don't know how long I can live with it myself," he groaned.
3
On the Saturday after Easter Tony and Lee drove down to the end of Long Island to lunch with the Conways. The sky was so blue and the road so smooth that Tony could not help occasionally bursting into song. Lee was silent.
"If you can't enjoy today, you can't enjoy anything," he reproached her. "It makes one wonder if life was worth living before they invented the automobile."
"The automobile? I thought it was your investments that made you so happy. That stock that sounds like a bird. Herron?"
"Well, of course, I'm glad Herron's going up. And, of course, I'm glad that Horton has submitted my name to the President. I want to be Assistant Secretary of the
Similar Books
