"You're early," I remarked drily, barely glancing at him.
"Got a big idea, Teddy--biggest idea I ever had--you know that?"
"Glad to hear it," and I scratched away at my list.
"Makin' notes, Ted? That's right--always keep your notes," and he roared a drunken laugh. He walked over to one of the experiments and smelt the beaker cautiously. He was evidently satisfied his plan was working, for he laughed long and loudly again. "That's good stuff, Ted. Bril-brilliant idea--if it works. You must keep careful notes on that ex--experiment."
I looked at him. "You are a great chemist, Mr. de Fougère, but even I know enough to know you can't always tell what's in a beaker by the smell." The sarcasm missed him.
"That's right, Ted--that's right. Best ex-experiments look all right--good theory, but won't work."
He lit a cigarette and hummed a wabbly tune, sitting astride a chair and watching me with his empty leer.
"Why did you wash all the labels off the bottles?" I asked quietly.
"Secrecy, Teddy--secrecy. Important work here--worth millions. Any one could walk in and find out all about it. We know all the bottles, now, Teddy--don't need labels, do we?"
The telephone stood on my desk in front of me, and I meditated calling up Knowlton. Finally I thought better of it, for my play was not to let Prospero know we had any inkling of the truth.
"That's a good idea," I said, "taking off the labels. I never thought of it just that way before."
"Of course you didn't, Ted. You don't know the world. It's a rough place, my boy--a rough place."
"It has delayed me some, because you didn't tell me first," I went on casually. "For instance, I want the bottle with the mixture made up according to the formula you worked out for the Texas contract. We have to start work on that job at seven." I paused and pretended to look through my papers.
"The Texas contract, eh? You know the formula--go ahead and make it." He hugged one knee and his eyes narrowed at me.
"I took a copy of them away with me Saturday morning--I'll have to go down after them, if you don't tell me."
He sprang to his feet: "You lie, Ted, God damn you, you lie!" My hand reached for the telephone, then paused. I was puzzled about what my next move ought to be.