Adventures Read Online Free PDF

thought he was going to faint dead away, but he settled for gulping twice and sweating a lot.
    “Good afternoon, brother,” I said cheerfully. “Would it be easier on you if I just found a nice shady bench and sat down on it?”
    He nodded.
    “Cat got your tongue?” I asked.
    “Most assuredly not,” he said in a high nasal voice. “Or is that an American colloquialism?”
    “No, it's just slang,” I said. “Let's rid ourselves of the formalities. The Right Reverend Doctor Jones at your service.” I extended my hand, and he looked so startled that I thought he was going to jump clear up to the moon.
    “And I am Henri Pasquard,” he said when he'd stopped shaking.
    “Can't say that I've ever heard of you, brother,” I said.
    “Oh, nobody has,” he said solemnly. “That is essential to my business. But possibly you have heard of Le Rongeur?”
    “Nope.”
    He looked disappointed.
    “What does it mean?” I asked.
    “Oh, nothing much. It's just my professional name, sort of like a stage name for an actor.”
    I was about to pat him on the shoulder and tell him not to look so unhappy, but I didn't want him to start shaking again, so l settled for offering him a cigar.
    “Oh, I don't smoke,” he said. “The smell makes me ill.”
    “Then I won't inflict the stench of my tobacco on you,” I said, putting the one I had chosen for myself back into my pocket. His hair was all slicked down with grease, and the grease and sweat were starting to run down his forehead into his eyes, so I offered him a handkerchief. He accepted it with a brief murmur of thanks.
    “Would you care to tell me why you were following me, Brother Rongeur?” I said, hoping the use of his professional name would put him more at ease.
    “I meant to approach you sooner or later,” he said, staring down at his two-toned shoes, “but is it not reasonable that I should first see if I could determine where you might have hidden the money?”
    “Reasonable as all get-out,” I agreed. “And now that you know it's not on me and that I'm not going to lead you to it, what next?”
    “Why, I should like to propose a partnership, of course,” he said. “Major Dobbins is a thief of the lowest type, and the Dutchman is even worse. I should think that dealing with such people would be repugnant to a man of your character.”
    “Whereas dealing with a man like yourself...?”
    “Please do not think that I offer you only honesty and integrity,” he said quickly. “On the contrary, l will return your money threefold in a week's time.”
    “I've already had better offers than that,” I said.
    “I have no doubt of it,” said the little man, almost apologetically. “But what good are their offers once they have their hands on the material? I, without false modesty, can give you a list of references which will satisfy even a man of the cloth. I can—” He broke off suddenly. “Excuse me,” he said, withdrawing an impressive-looking pistol from a shoulder holster and tucking it into his belt. “I tend to sweat under my arms, and moisture ruins the mechanism. Where were we?”
    “I believe you were about to list your references,” I said.
    “That would perhaps be indiscreet, until such time as I know you are interested in a partnership,” he said.
    “Perfectly understandable,” I said. “Just out of curiosity, Brother Rongeur, what exactly do you do when you're not striking up partnerships?”
    “Oh, I try to keep busy at one thing or another,” he said, lowering his eyes again.
    “And what does Le Rongeur mean?”
    “The Rodent,” he said, blushing under his olive skin. “Originally I was the Weasel, but there is no masculine form of it in French. It is always La Belette. It became very embarrassing, and attracted an inferior sort of person, if you understand my meaning.”
    “But why rodent or weasel or any kind of animal at all?” I asked.
    “It's kind of a private joke,” he said, still blushing furiously.
    “Care to