othing new about this----" began Curfoot; but
Stull interrupted:

"Wait, can't you! This ain't the usual. We run a place for Quint. The
place is like Quint's. We trim guys same as he does--or did. _But
there's more to it._"

He let his eyes rest on Neeland, obliquely, for a full minute. The
others watched him, too. Presently the young man cut another page of
his book with his pen-knife and turned it with eager impatience, as
though the story absorbed him.

"Don't worry about Frenchy," murmured Brandes with a shrug. "Go ahead,
Ben."

Stull laid one hand on Curfoot's shoulder, drawing that gentleman a
trifle nearer and sinking his voice:

"Here's the new stuff, Doc," he said. "And it's brand new to us, too.
There's big money into it. Quint swore we'd get ours. And as we was on
our uppers we went in. It's like this: We lay for Americans from the
Embassy or from any of the Consulates. They are our special game. It
ain't so much that we trim them; we also get next to them; we make 'em
talk right out in church. Any political dope they have we try to get.
We get it any way we can. If they'll accelerate we accelerate 'em; if
not, we dope 'em and take their papers. The main idee is to get a holt
on 'em!

"That's what Quint wants; that's what he's payin' for and gettin' paid
for--inside information from the Embassy and Consulates----"

"What does Quint want of that?" demanded Curfoot, astonished.

"How do I know? Blackmail? Graft? I can't call the dope. But listen
here! Don't forget that it ain't Quint who wants it. It's the big
feller behind him who's backin' him. It's some swell guy higher up
who's payin' Quint. And Quint, he pays us. So where's the squeal
coming?"

"Yes, but----"

"Where's the holler?" insisted Stull.

"I ain't hollerin', am I? Only this here is new stuff to me----"

"Listen, Doc. I don't know what it is, but all these here European
kings is settin' watchin' one another like toms in a back alley. I
think that some foreign political high-upper wants dope on what our
people are finding out over here. Like this, he says to himself: 'I
hear this Kink is building ten sooper ferry boats. If that's right, I
oughta know. And I hear that the Queen of Marmora has ordered a
million new nifty fifty-shot bean-shooters for the boy scouts! That is
indeed serious news!' So he goes to his broker, who goes to a big
feller, who goes to Quint, who goes to us. Flag me?"

"Sure."

"That's all. There's nothing to