"Certainly," she said, "you'll have to indorse it unless you want to keep it as a souvenir." She smiled at him. "Druce," she said, "you'll never get along in this business if you're a coward." "It's direct evidence against me." "You don't trust me?" "All right, girlie. I'll trust you." He folded the check and put it in his pocket. "Now, we'll have to have a bit of writing." "No writing for mine," retorted Druce. "This check is plenty." "Oh, Mr. Druce," Miss Masters spoke appealingly. "You don't think that's fair, do you? You've got my check." "I guess it's you that's not trusting me now," said Druce. "But you admit yourself that you may not deliver." "No I don't. I will deliver." "But this isn't business." "It's the way we do this kind of business in Chi." Miss Masters got up from the table, as if exasperated. "Look here, Mr. Druce," she said. "How can signing an agreement covering this sale hurt you? Oh, what a lot of cowards you 'live stock dealers' are! Can't you see that if you sign this agreement with me I'm incriminated as well as you are? The Mann act gets the buyer as well as the seller." "Well, what's the agreement?" "It says simply this: 'In consideration of $1,000 I agree to deliver two days from date the following girls'--I'll write in their names--'to Miss Masters.'" "You're not trying to put anything over?" "Did it ever strike you that by selling these girls to me you'd have John Boland where you wanted him?" "Boland?" "I'm his agent." "All right." Druce snatched up the paper and read it. "Write in the names." Miss Masters wrote the names of six girls into the document. She handed it back to Druce and picked up a pen. "Just a moment," she said, giving him the pen. "It's dark here. I'll raise the curtain." She stepped quickly across the room and adjusted the curtain so that the sunlight fell full across Druce as he signed his name to the agreement. As he finished the last stroke he heard a faint "click." "What was that?" he demanded anxiously. "The curtain caught on the window latch," replied Miss Masters. She picked up the agreement and blotted the signature. "Thank you," she said, "now I've got something for my $1,000." Druce laughed uneasily. The maid, Anna, entered from an adjoining apartment. Druce realized uncomfortably that the interview was over. "Well," he said, going to the door and smiling sentimentally at Miss Masters, "so long. See you later." "Yes," replied Miss Masters in a tone he didn't just like, "I'll see you later." CHAPTER XXI DRUCE PROVES A TRUE PROPHET