Chapter 36

Spade placed his knife and fork carefully together on his plate, and put his hands on the table beside his plate. His smile was faint and devoid of warmth. “With every bull in town working overtime trying to pile up grief for me a little more won’t hurt. I won’t even know it’s there.” Polhaus’s ruddiness deepened. He said: “That’s a swell thing to say to me.” Spade picked up his knife and fork and began to eat. Polhaus ate. Presently Spade asked: “See the boat on fire in the bay?” “I saw the smoke. Be reasonable, S…