ounces of whiskey into her glass and freshening it with the siphon. "I
think Rivers's offering ten thousand dollars for the collection, and
Fred's thinking we'd accept it, are the only ridiculous things about it."

"That's rather what I told Rivers, this afternoon," Rand put in. "He
seemed a bit upset about my being brought into this, too, but he finally
admitted that he was willing to pay up to twenty-five thousand dollars
for the collection, and if he buys it, that's exactly what it's going to
cost him."

"_What?_" Nelda fairly screamed. Her hands opened and closed
spasmodically: she was using a dark-red nail-tint that made Rand think
of blood-dripping talons.

"Mr. Arnold Rivers told me, this afternoon, and I quote: I'm willing to
pay up to twenty-five thousand dollars for that collection, unquote,"
Rand said. "And I can tell you now that twenty-five thousand dollars is
just what he will pay for it, unless I can find somebody who's willing to
pay more, which is not at all improbable."

"H'ray!" Geraldine waved her glass and toasted Rand with it. "And
twenty-five G ain't hay, brother!"

Gladys smiled quickly at Rand, then turned to Nelda. "Now I hope you see
why I thought it wise to bring in somebody who knows something about old
arms," she said.

Nelda evidently saw; there was apparently nothing stupid about her. "And
Fred was going to take a miserable ten thousand dollars!" The way she
said it, ten thousand sounded like a fairly generous headwaiter's tip.