There was an occasional house, but they were dark and silent, and I went on bumping so long, a sharp curve to the left and one to the right and then to the left again, that I began wondering if I was on the wrong road.
Then, finally, I saw a light ahead, stuck to the ruts around another curve, and there I was.
Besides a few rapid comments from Wolfe before I started, I had trotted the brain around for a survey of the situation during the drive, and there didn't seem to be anything very critical about it except that it would be nice to keep the news of Gebert's expedition to ourselves for a while.
They were welcome to go in and look for the red box all they wanted to, since Saul, with the whole afternoon to work undisturbed, hadn't found it.
But Gebert was worth a little effort, not to mention the item that we had our reputation to consider.
So I stopped the roadster alongside the two cars that were parked at the edge of the road and leaned out and yelled:
“Come and move this bus!
It's blocking the gate and I want to turn in!”
A gruff shout came from the porch:
“Who the hell are you?”
I called back:
“Haile Selassie. Okay, I'll move it myself.
If it makes a ditch, don't blame me.”
I got out and climbed into the other car, open with the top down, a state police chariot.
I heard, and saw dimly in the dark, a couple of guys leave the porch and come down the short path.
They jumped the low palings.
The front one was in uniform and I made out the other one for my old friend Lieutenant Rowcliff.
The trooper was stern enough to scare me silly:
“Come out of that, buddie.
Move that car and I'll tie you in a knot.”
I said,
“You will not.
Get it?
It's a pun.
My name is Archie Goodwin, I represent Mr. Nero Wolfe, I belong in there and you don't.
If a man finds a car blocking his own gate he has plenty of right to move it, which is what I'm going to do, and if you try to stop me it will be too bad because I'm mad as hell and I mean it.”
Rowcliff growled,
“All right, get out, we'll move the damn thing.” He muttered at the cossack, “You might as well.
This bird's never been tamed yet.”
The trooper opened the door.
“Get out.”
“You going to move it?”
“Why the hell shouldn't I move it?
Get out.”
I descended and climbed back in the roadster.
The trooper started his car and eased it ahead, into the road, and off again beyond the entrance. My lights were on him.
I put my gear in, circled through the gate onto the driveway, stopped back of a car there which I recognized for the convertible Gebert had parked in front of Wolfe's house the day before, and got out and started for the porch.
There was a mob there sitting along the edge of it.
One of them got smart and turned on a flash and spotted it on my face as I approached.
Rowcliff and the trooper came up and stood at the foot of the steps.
I demanded,
“Who's in charge of this gang?
I know you're not, Rowcliff, we're outside the city limits.
Who's got any right to be here on private property?”
They looked at each other.
The trooper stuck out his chin at me and asked,
“Have you?”
“You're darned tooting I have.
You've seen a paper signed by the executor of the estate that owns this.
I've got another one in my pocket.