"I don"t know--that"s what I"m going to find out."
"You crazy wop!" said Quin. "What"s got into you lately? Can"t you trust Rose to take care of herself?"
"Yes; but I don"t trust any fellow that"ll go with a girl and be ashamed to be seen with her."
"How do you know he"s ashamed to be seen with her?"
"Because he comes sneaking in here after we"ve all gone to bed. He don"t ring the door-bell; he honks once or twice; and then I hear Rose slipping past my door."
"I didn"t know any of Rose"s beaux had a machine."
"They haven"t. This is some rich guy that thinks any girl that works for her living is an easy mark. I"ll show him a thing or two! I"ll break his d.a.m.ned---- Listen! There"s an automobile stopping now."
He started excitedly down the steps, but Quin grasped his arms.
"Come back here, Ca.s.s! You can"t go cavorting out there in your pajamas, making a mess of things. You leave it to me. I"ll go out the side way and amble around to the front door the same time they do. They"ll think I"m just getting home, and I can size him up for you."
The next moment he was out of the house, over the low hedge, and casually sauntering toward the corner. The night was very dark, lightened only by the swinging street lamp and the two staring eyes of an automobile that had stopped a little distance from the house. Quin saw Rose dart out of the shadows and run toward the house. Some one called her name softly and peremptorily, but she did not stop. A man was following her out of the shadows. But Quin did not wait for him to arrive; he promptly stepped around the corner and met Rose at the front gate.
"What"s up?" he demanded, seeing her quivering lips and angry, excited eyes.
"Tell him to go away!" she whispered, trying to get the gate open. "Tell him I never want him to speak to me again. He _can"t_ apologize--there isn"t anything he can say. Just make him go away, that"s all."
"Miss Martel is making a mountain out of a molehill," said a suave voice behind them, and, turning, Quin saw the somewhat perturbed face of Harold Phipps, "If she would listen to me for two minutes----"
"But I won"t--not for one minute! You sha"n"t speak to me----"
"Just one word alone with you----"
"See here," said Quin, stepping between them and looking Harold Phipps squarely in the eyes. "You heard what she said, didn"t you?"
"Yes; but I insist upon her listening to me. She entirely misunderstood something I said."
"I did not!" Rose broke in furiously. "You know perfectly well I didn"t.
I won"t listen to anything you have to say on that or any other subject."
"I sha"n"t let you go until you do," he replied in his most authoritative tone.
"Oh, yes, you will," said Quin quietly. "I don"t know what the row"s about, but she doesn"t have to talk to you if she doesn"t want to."
For a moment the two men stood silently measuring each other; then the one in uniform gave a slight shrug and permitted himself a faint superior smile.
"I see," he said. "The young lady"s conduct did not lead me to suppose she was engaged. I congratulate you!" And, turning on his heel, he went back to his car.
Rose turned quickly and seized Quin"s arm.
"Don"t tell anybody about this, please," she implored. "I"ve had my lesson--the beast!"
"What did he do?" demanded Quin, longing for an excuse to annihilate Phipps.
"It wasn"t so much what he did--it was what he said. But you"ve got to promise not to give me away, Quin. You mustn"t let on that I was out to-night."
"But Ca.s.s is on to it. He"s waiting there in the hall now."
She caught her breath sharply.
"Does he know who I was with?"
"Not yet."
"Then he mustn"t. It would spoil everything for Papa Claude and the play; and, besides, Ca.s.s is so excitable. I _haven"t_ done anything wrong, Quin! I was just out for a little fun, and that contemptible puppy thought----"
"I wish to G.o.d I"d cracked his bean!" said Quin fervently.
"Promise me that you won"t tell!"
"I won"t tell, but I intend to have it out with him."
"No, no!" she whispered hysterically. "I tell you, nothing more must be said about it. It was partly my fault; only, I didn"t know he was that kind of a man. You know yourself I never really liked him. Only it was fun to go out in his car, and I get so sick of not having any clothes or money and having to stay in that deadly old store day in and day out!"
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed violently for a moment; then she caught hold of Quin"s sleeve.
"You won"t speak to him," she implored, "and you won"t tell Ca.s.s?"
"I won"t do anything you don"t want me to," promised Quin, proffering his handkerchief with his sympathy, "It"s your shooting-match, and Ca.s.s has got to keep his hands off."
Ca.s.s at this moment cautiously opened the front door, and stood in his bare feet, viewing them with anxious suspicion.
"It"s all right, old cove," said Quin, slipping Rose into the house and pulling the door to after her. "No harm"s done, and she won"t do it again."
"How do you know?"
"Because she and the fellow had a blow-out. She says she is through with him for good and all."
"Did you see him?"
"Yes; he"s a average-sized fellow with a smooth face and brown hair."
"Would you know him if you saw him again?"
"Sure. I"ll keep an eye out for him. But you"ve got to leave it to me. I can handle the situation all right now, if you just won"t b.u.t.t in."
"If you can get Rose to promise not to see him again, she"ll stick to it; I can say that for her."
"She won"t see him. They"ve quarreled, I tell you. I heard her balling him out good before he left. The whole thing is settled, and all you got to do is to b.u.t.ton up your lip and go to bed."
A week later Papa Claude announced that Harold Phipps was at last released from his onerous duties in the army and had returned to his home in Chicago, where he would in future devote himself to the writing and producing of great American plays.