For complete contentment he required well-balanced alternations of excitement and peaceful self-satisfaction. At the beginning of his cigarette he was enjoying the peaceful self-satisfaction. Halfway through the cigarette, the front door bell rang curtly and crisply, and the Saint came slowly to his feet with a speculative little frown.
He was not expecting to receive callers at that address, apart from tradesmen, because it had never been registered in his own name. And in any case, when he came back to London this time there had been no notices in the newspapers to say that Mr. Simon Templar had returned to town and would be delighted to hear from any friends and/or acquaintances who cared to look him up. For obvious reasons. The Saint had never been notorious for hiding his light under any unnecessary bushels, but he always knew precisely when to remain discreetly in the background. He had learnt the art in his cradle, and this was one of the periods when he applied it energetically. It was therefore a practical certainty that the visitor would be unwelcome; but Simon opened the door with a bland smile, for he was always interested to meet any trouble that happened to be coming his way.
"Why, if it isn't Claud Eustace!" he exclaimed, and stood aside to allow the caller to enter.
"Yes, it's me," said Mr. Teal heavily.
He came in, and oozed through the miniature hall into the sitting room. Simon Templar followed him in.
"What can I do for you? Do you want a tip for the Two Thousand, or have you come to borrow money?"
Inspector Teal carefully unwrapped a wafer of chewing gum and posted -it in his red face.
"Saint," said Teal drowsily, "I hear you've been a naughty boy again."
"Not me," said the Saint. "You must be thinking of someone else. I'll admit I've been to Paris, but——"
Teal's lower jaw ruminated rhythmically.
"Yes," he said, "some of it was in Paris."
Simon leaned against the mantelpiece with a little twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
"Well?"
"In Paris," said Teal, "you doped Lord Essenden and took a couple of hundred thousand francs off him. Before that, while acting as a police officer, you abandoned your duty and connived at the escape of a woman who's wanted for murder. You can't go on doing that sort of thing, Saint, I'm afraid I shall have to bother you again."
"Well?"
The detective's shoulders moved in a ponderous shrug.
"The best thing about you, Templar," he said, "is that you always come quietly."
Simon fingered his chin.