"Oh, my dear sir! must we put it upon the ground of a _quid pro quo_? Rather let us say that we shall help each other. You are in a position to assist me very materially: I may be in a position to serve your turn. Come to my office to-morrow morning prepared to do your duty as an honest, loyal citizen, and you will find me quite willing to meet you half-way." Kent rose and opened his watch. "Mr. Meigs, I have given you your opportunity, and you have seemed to give me mine," he said coolly. "Will you pardon me if I say that I can paddle my own canoe--if I ask you to assure his Excellency that one more device of his to escape punishment has been tried and found wanting?" For a flitting moment the cast-iron smile faded from the impassive face of the attorney-general and an unrelenting devil came to peer out of the colorless eyes. Then Meigs rose cat-like and laid his hand on the door-knob. "Do I understand that you refuse to move in a matter which should be the first duty of a good citizen, Mr. Kent?" he asked purringly. "I certainly do refuse to fall into any such clumsy trap as you have been trying to bait for me, Mr. Meigs," said David Kent, dropping back into his former curtness. The door opened slowly under the impulse of the slender womanish hand. "You have a task of some magnitude before you, Mr. Kent. You can scarcely hope to accomplish it alone." "Meaning that you would like to know if the fight will go on if I should chance to meet another drunken cow-boy with a better aim? It will." The door closed softly behind the retreating figure of the attorney-general, and Kent released the spring of the night-latch. Then he went to the dropped portière at the farther end of the room, drew it aside and looked in on a man who was writing at a table pushed out between the windows. "You heard him, Loring?" he asked. The ex-manager nodded. "They are hard pressed," he said. Then, looking up quickly: "You could name your price if you wanted to close out the stock of goods in hand, David." "I shall name it when the time comes. Are you ready to go over to the _Argus_ office with me? I want to have a three-cornered talk with Hildreth." "In a minute. I'll join you in the lobby if you don't want to wait." * * * * * It was in the afternoon of the same day that Kent found a note in his key-box at the Clarendon asking him to call up 124 Tejon Avenue by telephone. He did it at once, and Penelope answered. The key-box note had been placed at Elinor's request, and she, Miss Penelope, could not say what was wanted; neither could she say definitely when her sister would be in. Elinor had gone out an hour earlier with Mr. Ormsby and Miss Van Brock in Mr. Ormsby's motor-car. When was he, David Kent, coming up? Did he know they were talking of spending the remainder of the summer at Breezeland Inn? And where was Mr. Loring all this time?