Dramatists -- Fiction; Love stories; Mystery fiction
"Unless Shaw gets back in the meantime." He was still watching her with
that new look in his eyes. Then, briskly, he returned to his interest in
the doorlock.
"In any case," he casually remarked, "we don't want to be jailed here."
She said no more, but sat watching him as he worked, deftly and
silently. In little more than the time he had predicted he opened the
door and held it wide.
"Any time you would like to pass out," he invited, then checked himself
and vanished in the dimness of the hall. The girl left behind heard the
sounds of running feet, of a sharp scuffle, of a few words spoken in a
high, excited voice. Then Laurie reentered the room, pushing the
secretary before him. At present the youth looked anything but meek. His
blond hair was on end, his tie was under one ear, his pale eyes were
bright with anger, and he moved spasmodically, propelled by jerks from
behind.
"I don't like this young man," said Laurie, conversationally. "I never
have. So I'm going to put him where for a few hours he can't annoy us.
Is there a good roomy closet on this floor? If there is, kindly lead us
to it."
"Say, hold on!" cried the blond youth, in outraged tones. "I'm sick of
this."
"Shut up." Laurie shook him gently. "And cheer up. You're going to have
a change. Lead on, please."
Thus urged, and further impelled, the secretary obediently led the way
to a closet at the far end of the upper hall. It was fairly commodious,
and full of garments hanging on pegs and smelling oppressively of
camphor. It afforded an electric-light fixture, and Laurie, switching on
the light, emphasized this advantage to the reluctant new occupant, who
unwisely put up a brief and losing fight on its threshold.
"You may read if you like," Laurie affably suggested, when this had been
suppressed. "I'll bring you some magazines. You may even smoke. Mr. Shaw
and I always treat our prisoners with the utmost courtesy. You don't
smoke? Excellent! Safer for the closet, and a fine stand for a worthy
young man to take. Now, I'll get the magazines for you."
He did so, and the blond secretary accepted them with a black scowl.
"I'm afraid," observed Laurie regretfully, "he has an ungrateful
nature."
He locked the door on the infuriated youth, pocketed the key, and faced
Doris, who had followed the brief procession. The little encounter had
restored his poise.
"What next?" he asked, placidly.
Her reply was in the nature of a shock.
"I'd like to have you wash up."
He raised his eyebrows.
"And spoil my admirable disguise? However, if you insist, I suppose I
can get most of the effect again with ashes, if I have to. Where's a
bath-room?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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