"Murphy," said John, "can we trust you?" "I went da limit for you, didn't I?" asked Murphy, looking at John. "You did," agreed John, remembering how Murphy had vouched for him to "Slim" Gray. "That's why we're here now. We figure you can help us and if you do we'll see that you are taken care of." "You're straight with dat?" "Absolutely." "Well, do your stuff, then, do your stuff!" At a nod from Brennan, John placed the whole situation before Murphy, explaining every part of it carefully. "Now, what we want you to do is this," he said. "We want you to find out everything you can about what the 'Gink' is doing and let us know as soon as you learn it." Murphy listened without interrupting until John had finished. "Do you know what'll happen to me if de 'Gink' finds I'm peachin' on him?" he asked. "We have an idea----" John began. "An idea!" Murphy exclaimed, contemptuously. "Well, I got more than an idea, see? I know what'd happen to me, see? I get my head kicked in, see?" "We'll promise you that for every piece of information you give us you'll get enough money to make it worth your while," put in Brennan. "Dat's straight?" asked Murphy, turning to John. "That's straight," John assured him. They left a few minutes later with Murphy's pledge, given with an oath worded far stronger than the customary legal one, to act as their informant and to keep secret every word they had told him. "De 'Gink's' no pal of mine, see?" said Murphy as they left his room. "I'm wise enough to know that he'd cross me in a minute, see?" The interrogative "see?" that Murphy used to punctuate his sentences was invariably accompanied with a gesture of his hand that resembled a baseball umpire's gesture in calling a runner safe at a base more than anything John could think of. Before dinner that night Mrs. Gallant handed him an envelope which she said she received in the afternoon's mail. It was addressed to him and opening it he found that it was a note from Consuello. "My dear Mr. Gallant," he read, "could you and your dear mother accompany me home Sunday for dinner? I can arrange to call for you and bring you home in the car. I would be delighted to have you with me and am anxious for father and mother to meet Mrs. Gallant. Cordially, Consuello Carrillo." CHAPTER XIII Since the night Mrs. Gallant had gone weeping to her room after John told her that Consuello played in motion pictures, the girl had never been mentioned by either of them. John refrained from speaking of her because he decided that until he found some way to overcome the prejudice his mother held it would only cause unpleasantness. There had never been a night following that when Mrs. Gallant had displayed her disapproval of Consuello that John had not racked his brain to decide how he could eradicate his mother's intolerant attitude and bring her to know and appreciate Consuello for the girl she was.