Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 102: what you’re looking at

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—S ah ee - he es 572 any stir at first to edge in with the political and diplomatic set. She was a mystery, but no one could get anything on her until a certain South American envoy committed suicide because she refused him; she had kept him dangling after her so closely that his mission here failed, but nobody could connect her in any way with those who opposed it. “Then a bill was rushed through the Senate when the man who had been put in office to kill it was idling in her drawing- room. After a few more little things like that an ambassador from a European coun- try went dippy about her, and some tre- mendously valuable documents disappeared. He was recalled and the affair hushed up, but it was then that she moved to New York and lived very quietly, without a breath of personal scandal. She dropped out of the newspapers except for that jewel robbery and nothing more has been heard of her for two or three years, as I said. i'll have to get in touch with our Secret Service to locate her; they will have kept her under observation, of course.”’ “There ain’t nothin’ in all that ag’in’ her moral character so far as I kin see.” Geoff had listened carefully to every word. “Them foreigners and that fool Senator may have lost their heads over her, but that was their own lookout, and if she got a nice little rake-off for gummin’ their games ‘tain’t been proved. She lived pooper and respectable, you say?” “Sure. That was part of her tactics. I never heard of her falling for any of the big guys who forgot their careers for her. But let’s get down to business. What’s she got to do with either Benkard or Lane? You’ve got something up your sleeve, Peters, or you’d never have spoken of her. Come clean and give me the straight dope.”’ “°S far as I know she ain’t got nothin’ to do with either o’ ’em,”’ Geoff disclaimed, but he added with a chuckle: “ If this here Secret Service has ’a’ been keepin’ an eye on her, though, they’ll likely be abie to tell you somethin’ I couldn’t that might s’prise you, and if she don’t live any too far from Lane’s garage and he didn’t come back here that night, after all, and so ain’t the man we're lookin’ for, I got a kinder notion it ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. might’ve been in front o’ her house, or nigh it, that his car stood most o’ them four missin’ hours.” CHAPTER XIII. THE WOMAN SCORNED. EOFF completed his work on the Cayley garage before noon the next day and was cleaning up the litter when he saw Adrian Middleton drive up to the door in the big car which had brought the veiled lady on the previous Saturday. After an interval spent in replacing his tools in the huge box on the terrace Middleton himself came out to him, accompanied by Miss Vera Sherwood. 3 “ Hello, Geoff! Your work here is very nearly finished, isn’t it? I’ve come out to ask you when you can attend to the repairs on our old place.” He shook hands heartily. ‘When I told my sister-in-law about you she said she wouldn’t dream of having any- body else and we’re living with a leaky roof, shaky chimneys and a court that needs a new concrete floor to replace the old brick one.” ‘“ T’ll be there soon’s I kin git away, Mr. Middleton,” Geoff promised. “ Got to set the doodabs on this terrace railing first and one thing and ‘nother, but I won’t keep you folks a-waitin’ more’n a few days. ’Morn- in’, Miss Sherwood.” “Good morning, Geoffrey—and good- by,” she smiled. “ My visit here is ended and I am going now to Mrs. Harper Middle- ton’s, but I'll see you there and I'll tell her what splendid work you have accomplished here at Mrs. Cayley’s.”’ “Thank you, ma’am,” he responded re- spectfully. “I ain’t up to some o’ them fancy city builders’ tricks, but I aim to do as good as I know how.” ‘““T am sure you do.” She smiled again, Adrian nodded, and they were gone. When the bustle of leave-taking in the patio had subsided and the hum of the car diminished down the drive Geoff took his paper-wrapped package of lunch from be- neath his folded coat. Dipper in hand, he Gomichbooks.com