The Doorbell Rang (The Rex Stout Library)

He described it, and he reports almost as well as I do-better, if you like long words. There was no point in leaving Hewitt's name out since the FBI knew all about it, and he gave all the details. When he came to the scene in the office, with the two G-men completely surrounded by guns and him dropping their credentials in his drawer, I saw something I had never seen before and will probably never see again, a broad smile on the face of Inspector Cramer. And it was there again when, reporting the conversation with Wragg that morning, Wolfe came to where he had told him that his word was much better. I was thinking that he might even pop up to go to Wolfe and pat him on the back when the doorbell rang and I went to answer it.

I have mentioned that Wragg was fazed when Wolfe asked him to bring the bullet, but that was nothing compared to the jolt he got when he walked into the office and saw Cramer. I was behind him and couldn't see his face, but I saw him go stiff and his fingers curl. Cramer, on his feet, started a hand out but took it back.

As I brought a yellow chair Wragg spoke to Wolfe. "Your word? Better than mine? You goddam skunk!"

"Sit down," Wolfe said. "Whether my word is better or not, my brain is. I don't judge a situation before I understand it. Mr Cramer is-"

"All agreements are off."

"Pfui. You're not a donkey. Mr Cramer is regretting that he surmised that a member of your bureau was a murderer. If you sit down and compose yourself he may tell you so."

"I have no apologies for anybody," Cramer growled. He turned his head to make sure the red leather chair was still there, and sat. "Anyone who withholds information-"

"No," Wolfe snapped. "If you gentlemen must contend, that's your affair, but not in my office. I want to resolve a situation, not tangle it. I like eyes at a level, Mr Wragg. Be seated."

"Resolve it how?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you."

He didn't want to. He looked at Cramer, he even looked at me, like a general surveying a battlefield and watching his flanks. He didn't like it, but he sat.