The fat man hastened to say, “It will do just as well as any, Lam, my boy. After all, what’s in a name? Yes, yes, let it be Cunweather by all means. Mrs. Cunweather, my wife, Mrs. Cool. I want you two to be friends.”

The tall, big woman looked down at the chunky one. Mrs. Cunweather said, “How do you do, Mrs. Cool?” And Mrs. Cool said, “Howdy do. I hope you don’t stand on formality—I don’t.”

Mrs. Cunweather sat down. Her eyes were cautious—watchful.

The chief said, “Precisely what do you want, Mrs. Cool?”

“Money,” Bertha Cool said.

His face broke into blubbery smiles. “Well, well, well, Mrs. Cool. That’s being direct! That’s a woman after my own heart. I’ve always said that I like plain, straightforward business where there’s no beating about the bush, haven’t I, m’love?”

He didn’t turn toward his wife as he spoke. Evidently, he expected no reply from her, and she made none.

Mrs. Cool said, “I thought we’d talk terms.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong,” the fat man said. “I don’t know what Mr. Lam has told you, but if he insinuates that he received other than the most courteous treatment at my hands, he—”

“Nuts,” Mrs. Cool said. “We’re not wasting time over that. You beat him up—it’s good for him—toughen him up some. Beat him up again if you want to, only don’t leave him so he can’t go to work at eight-thirty in the morning. I don’t give a damn how he spends his evenings.”

The chief broke into laughter. “Well, well, well,” he said, “if you aren’t a quaint, original woman—that is, if you don’t mind my saying so. That’s being delightfully frank. Now tell me, just what was it you had in mind, Mrs. Cool?”

“You want to know about Morgan Birks. I might be able to tell you something.”

“Well, well, well, that’s nice of you, Mrs. Cool. We certainly appreciate that, my wife and I. And it was nice of you to drive out here early in the morning and tell us. After all, you know, sometimes seconds are important in this business, and we hate to lose them. Now precisely what was it you had to offer, Mrs. Cool?”

Mrs. Cool said, “We served papers on Morgan Birks.”

“Oh, you served them.”

“Of course we served them.”

“Do you know,” the man said, “I insisted all along that Donald had served them. And so did the little woman. You served them somehow in the hotel, didn’t you, Donald?”

“Don’t answer, Donald.”

“I’m not going to,” I said.

The chief turned to his wife. “There you are, m’love,” he said, “perfect teamwork. That’s what comes of doing business with people who appreciate the possibilities of a situation.