“You mentioned something about a sinking duck,” Mason said.
“Yes, you can accomplish things with a detergent that seem physically impossible. Quite frequently, nature uses the repellent properties of oil and water to give animals or plants a certain protection. Take the duck, for instance. The duck’s feathers ordinarily repel water, and therefore enclose within a good-sized volume a mass of air. If a small amount of this detergent or wetting agent is put on the water, the detergent immediately wets the oily feathers. Then, by capillary attraction, the water soaks into the feathers in the same way it would soak up into a sponge. If you’re interested, I can send you some material on it.”
“No, thanks. That won’t be necessary. I just wanted to find out something about it. I suppose you intended to use this duck in connection with a similar experiment.”
“Yes, I did. Gee, he was a cute little cuss. I thought I’d keep him as a pet. The experiment doesn’t hurt him any. You can have a lot of fun with it; particularly when some guy doesn’t like you and wants to call you on every slip you make, you can throw out a remark about a drowning duck and...”
“The way you did with Burr?” Mason asked.
Adams grinned, nodded his head, then after a moment added, “I was showing off in front of Lois. But Burr had it coming. He’s always had a chip on his shoulder as far as I was concerned.”
“Any reason?” Mason asked.
“None that I can see. Of course, Mr. Mason, I’m going to be frank with you. Witherspoon doesn’t like the idea of my marrying into the family. I know that — but that’s not going to stop me. I’m going to do what will make Lois happy. And I have a right to consider my own happiness. In the next few months, I’m going into the Army. I don’t know what’s going to happen after that. No one does. I know it’s going to be a tough job. I... gee, I’m talking too much.”
“No, you aren’t,” Mason said. “Go on. Let’s have the rest of it.”
“Well,” Adams said, “I feel that I’m going to be risking my life, and a lot of fellows just like me are going to be risking their lives, so that birds like Witherspoon can enjoy the things they have. I suppose I shouldn’t feel that way, but — well, anyway, I feel that if I’m good enough to go out and fight for John L. Witherspoon, I’m good enough to marry’ into his family. I know it doesn’t make sense in a way, but — oh, hang it, I love Lois and she loves me, and why should we get silly and store up a lot of tragedy for ourselves. We may have only a few weeks together.”
“Why wouldn’t you consent to go to Yuma and marry her last night?” Mason asked.
Adams let his face show surprise; then his eyes narrowed slightly. “Who told you about that?” he asked in a coldly formal voice.
“Lois.”
Adams remained silent for several seconds, then said, “Because it was a sneaky way to go about it. I wrote her a letter after I got on the train, and told her if she still felt the same way about it next week, to go ahead and tell her dad what we were going to do, and then we’d do it.”
Mason nodded. “About this duck. Did you have any particular reason for taking him?”
“Yes, I did.” Adams fished in his pocket and pulled out a letter. “This speaks for itself,” he said.
Mason shook the folded sheet of paper from the envelope and read:
Dear Mr. Adams:
Talking with some friends of yours, I understand you have a chemical you can put in water and make a duck sink without touching it.
Some men at my club have been riding me pretty hard, and it would be worth an even hundred bucks to me to be able to take them on something of this sort. Your friends tell me you’re going to be in Los Angeles on Monday morning. If you’ll telephone Lakeview two-three-seven-seven-one, and make an appointment, I’ll have five nice new crisp twenty-dollar bills waiting for you.
Sincerely yours,
Mason studied the letter for almost a minute, then abruptly folded it, put it in his pocket, and said, “Let me keep this. I’ll phone Mr. Lahey. Let me know where I can get in touch with you after I’ve arranged an appointment. I’d like to be there when you perform the experiment.”
Adams seemed puzzled.
“It’s quite all right,” Mason said. “Let me handle it, and will you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Don’t mention this letter to anyone. Don’t mention about ducks drowning, unless you are asked some specific question along those lines by someone who is entitled to expect an answer.”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow you, Mr. Mason.”
“Suppose I should tell you this was primarily for Lois?”
“Then I’d do it.”
“Then do it,” Mason said.
The train slowed to a stop. The porter yelled, “Los Angeles. Los Angeles. All out for Los Angeles.”
Mason got to his feet. “How much of this detergent would it take to sink a duck?”
“A very small amount of the right kind. A few thousandths of one per cent.”
“It floats on the surface of the water then?”
“Well, not exactly, although it amounts to the same thing. The water repellent end of the molecules is trying to get away from the water. That makes the molecules tend to congregate in larger numbers around the surface of the water, and any surfaces which are wet with water.”
Mason said, “I see, and these molecules dissolve the oil...”
“Strictly speaking, they don’t dissolve the oil. They simply keep the oil from repelling the water. Once the detergent is removed from water and the feathers, the duck swims along the same as ever.”
“I see,” Mason said as the line of passengers started shuffling down the aisle of the train. “I’m interested in that duck. You say you left it in the machine?”
“Yes”
“Where?”
“In the front seat.”
“Couldn’t it have flopped over the back of the front seat down into the rear of the car?”
“No. It was too young to do any flying. It might have dropped down to the floor in the front of the car, but I looked the floor over pretty carefully.”
Mason said, “Say nothing whatever about this detergent, or the experiment of sinking the duck. If anyone asks you, tell them you wanted the duck simply as a pet. And don’t, for the moment, mention this letter which you received from Los Angeles.”
“All right, I’ll do it if you say so, Mr. Mason. But look here, I want that hundred dollars. That looks as big as the United States mint to me right now. A man who’s working his way through college and wanting to get married — well, you can see how it is.”
“I see no reason why I can’t take care of that,” Mason said, reaching for his wallet.
“No, no. I only meant that I didn’t want you to let this chap get away. Be sure you get in touch with him.”
Mason took out five twenty-dollar bills. “Don’t worry. I’ll describe the experiment to him and collect the hundred.”
Adams seemed dubious.
Mason shoved the currency into his hand. “Don’t be silly. This is just to save me getting in touch with you again. Where can I tell this man to get his detergent?”
“Oh, there are lots of places. The Central Scientific Company, the country’s foremost makers of laboratory equipment, in Chicago, for one — or the National Chemical Company in New Orleans. Or, of course, the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation in New York. He won’t have any trouble getting a detergent, just so he knows what to ask for.”