"I have great faith in him," she was saying. "He has a wonderful project under way just now."
"And he doesn"t care who suffers by it," charged Gresham, furious that she should be so well-informed. "You"ll see that he"ll involve Courtney"s property with some of his old debts."
Constance"s eyes widened.
"Do you think so?" she inquired as quietly as possible.
"Of course he will. His creditors are certain to take advantage of this immediately. I warned Courtney."
She hastily arose and went into the hall.
"Oh, Aunt Pattie!" she called up the stairs. "Mr. Gresham is here."
Then to Gresham: "You"ll excuse me for a little while, won"t you? Aunt Pattie is coming down."
Five minutes after Johnny and Mr. Washer had gone, Constance Joy came into Johnny"s office with carefully concealed timidity. Her manner was coldly gracious and self-possessed, and her toilet was perfect; but she carried one ripped glove.
"Is Mr. Loring in?" she asked with perfect a.s.surance and also with suddenly accelerated dignity; for the stenographer was really quite neat-looking--not pretty, you know, but neat.
"He has just gone out," replied the stenographer with tremendous sweetness. Anybody could look pretty in expensive clothes like Constance Joy"s.
There was a moment"s hesitation.
"Is Mr. Gamble in?"
The girl smiled quite brightly.
"Mr. Gamble has just gone out," she stated, and smiled again. She was not at all pretty when she smiled--not by any means--neat, though.
"Could you tell me where I would be likely to find Mr. Loring?" asked Constance stiffly.
"Haven"t the slightest idea," answered the girl happily, and gave her hair a touch. Ah! there was a rip under her sleeve!
"Do you know where Mr. Gamble has gone?" and Constance was suddenly pleasant through and through.
"Mr. Gamble?" repeated the girl, wondering at the sudden sweetness and suspicious of it. "Oh, Mr. Gamble has gone over to the office of Mallard back in a few minutes. He"s in and out a great deal, but he seldom stays out of the office long at a time."
"Thank you," said Constance hastily, reflecting that there was a public telephone booth in the drug store on the corner, so she need not inquire the address of Mallard & Tyne.
Mr. Gamble, Mr. Courtney, and Mr. Washer were in Mr. Mallard"s private office, with that acutely earnest real estate gentleman, when a boy came in to advise Mr. Gamble that he was wanted on the telephone.
Johnny Gamble had never heard the voice of Constance over a thin wire, but he recognized it in an instant; and he hitched his chair six inches closer to the instrument. He gave her a fool greeting, which he tried to remember afterward so that he could be confused about it; but Constance wasted no time in preliminaries.
"Have you any property which could be attached?" she wanted to know.
"Just at the present minute I have," he admitted. "I shall have a nominal t.i.tle in a big building plot, for a day or two--or until the necessary papers can be signed."
"You mustn"t wait!" she hastily ordered him. "You must get rid of it right this minute."
"I"ll burn it up if you don"t like it," he heartily promised her.
"What"s the matter with it?"
"It isn"t safe for you to have it an instant. I"ve wasted so much time trying to find Polly or Loring, so that they could warn you, that I haven"t time to explain. Just get rid of it immediately--can"t you?"
"I can do anything you say," he earnestly informed her, hitching his chair closer. There was only an inch left, but he took that. "You"ll explain to me to-night what all this is about, won"t you?"
"You may come, but you mustn"t ask questions."
"I"ll be there as soon as I"m through here," he promptly informed her.
"Not so early," she protested, panic-stricken, "I have a caller just now. You must hurry, Mr. Gamble."
"Yes, I will," and he tried to hitch his chair closer. "You"re telephoning from the house, then?"
"No-o-o-o!" and he thought he detected a stifled snicker. "I left him with Aunt Pattie and slipped out for a minute."
Him! Him, eh? And she had slipped out to telephone her friend, Johnny, the bit of hot information!
He covered the transmitter with his hand to turn aside and smile. This was a pleasant world after all!
"Many, many thanks!" he jubilated. "I think I"ll arrange a little dinner of jollification to-night and hand you the official score. I"ll have the colonel, and Mr. Courtney, and Polly, and--"
"You may call me up and tell me about it as soon as you get that property off your hands," she interrupted him.
"All right," he reluctantly agreed. "You"ll come to the dinner, won"t you?"
"Well, I have a partial engagement," she hesitated.
"Then you"ll come," he exultantly knew.
"Maybe," she replied. "Hurry!"
He declared that he would--but he was talking into a dead telephone.
"I guess I"ll hurry," he decided, and stalked into Mallard"s room.
"Look here, fellows. Can"t we cut this thing short?" he suggested.
"There"s no use in Mr. Courtney"s completing his purchase from Mallard & Tyne, or me mine from Mr. Courtney, or Mr. Washer his from me. All that poppy-c.o.c.k is just to conceal out profits. What Mr. Washer wants is the ground; and Courtney and I want half a million dollars, besides the eighth of a million that Mr. Courtney had already invested. Mr.
Washer, give Courtney your check for five-eighths of a million--and both Courtney and I will tear up our contracts and give you the pieces.
Then you settle with Mallard & Tyne for two and an eighth millions."
"Look here, Courtney, is this a put-up job between you and Gamble?"
demanded Washer.
"No," returned Courtney, with that rarely seen smile of his, "it"s only the finish of that job you put up on me when you persuaded my friends to drop out of my hotel company."
Washer looked petulant. Johnny Gamble patted him on the shoulder.
"Cheer up," he said--"but hurry. If you don"t hurry I"ll sell you some stock in my Terminal Hotel Company."
"Give me some papers to sign," ordered Washer, producing his check-book.