Tod Denver turned. "Hello, Rubber-face," he said pleasantly. "Sit down
and have a drink. You're paying for it."
Big Ed Caltis turned apoplectic purple but he sat down. A waitress
hustled up another glass. Silence in the room. Every eye focused upon
the table where Big Ed Caltis sat and stared blindly at his uninvited
guest.
Skilfully, Denver poured sparkling liquid against the inside curve of
the third glass. With exaggerated care, he refilled his own and the
girl's. He shoved the odd glass toward Big Ed with a careless gesture
that was not defiance but held a hint of something cold and deadly
and menacing.
"Drink hearty, champ," he suggested. "You'll need strength and Dutch
courage to hear some of the things I've wanted to tell you. I've been
holding them for a long time. This is it."