you hear that?" Rivers demanded, looking up from the drawer in
which he was filing the card on the Leech & Rigdon.

"From Mrs. Fleming." Rand released a puff of pipe smoke and watched it
draw downward into the fireplace. "I've been retained to handle the sale
of that collection; naturally, I'd know who was offering how much."

Rivers's eyes narrowed. He came around the desk, loading another
cigarette into his holder.

"And just why, might I ask, did Mrs. Fleming think it in order to employ
a detective in a matter like that?" he wanted to know.

Rand let out more smoke. "She didn't. She employed an arms-expert, a
Colonel Jefferson Davis Rand, U.S.A., O.R.C., who is a well-known
contributor to the _American Rifleman_ and the _Infantry Journal_ and
_Antiques_ and the old _Gun Report_. You've read some of his articles,
I believe?"

"Then you're not making an investigation?"

"What in the world is there to investigate?" Rand asked. "I'm just
selling a lot of old pistols for the Fleming estate."

"I thought Fred Dunmore was doing that."

"So did Fred. You're both wrong, though. I am." He got out Goode's letter
of authorization and handed it to Rivers, who read it through twice
before handing it back. "You see anything in that about Fred Dunmore,
or any of the other relatives-in-law?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't understand; I'm glad to know what the situation really
is." Rivers frowned. "I thought you were making some kind of an
investigation, and as I'm the only party making any serious offer to buy
those pistols, I wanted to know what there was to investigate."

"Do you consider ten thousand dollars to be a serious offer?" Rand asked.
"And aren't you forgetting Stephen Gresham and his friends?"

"Oh, those people!" Rivers scoffed. "Mr. Rand, you certainly don't expect
them to be able to handle anything like this, do you?"

"Well, the banks speak well of them," Rand replied. "Some of them have
good listings in Dun & Bradstreet's, too."

"Well, so do I," Rivers reported. "I can top any offer that crowd makes.
What do you expect to get out of them, anyhow?"

"I haven't talked price with them, yet. A lot more than ten thousand
dollars, anyhow."

Rivers forced a laugh. "Now, Mr. Rand! That was just an opening offer. I
thought Fred Dunmore was handling the collection." He grimaced. "What do
you think it's really worth?"

Rand shrugged. "It probably has a dealer's piece-by-piece list-value
of around seventy thous