And gone Phyllis surely had. It was foolish to look for her in the rooms, for her hat and coat were missing, of course she had gone out into the street; whether for some ordinary errand, or to disappear who could tell? “I’ll find her,” said Prescott, and clapping on his hat he hurried away. CHAPTER XV Phyllis and Ivy And where _was_ Phyllis? Why, sitting in the small, but pretty, little bedroom of Ivy Hayes, in that young woman’s boarding-house home. “And so you’re Phyllis Lindsay,” said the other girl, looking admiringly at Phyllis’ smart, inconspicuous costume. “I’m jolly glad to see you. What can I do for you?” The frank, pleasant manner of the hostess pleased the guest and Phyllis said, impulsively, “Oh, I hope you can help me. I’m in a quandary. Will you tell me frankly just why you said I was at Mr Gleason’s the day he died?” “Now, how did you know I said that? I declare those detectives tell everything!” “I thought it was Mr Barry whom you told.” “Well, it’s all the same. Why, I said you were there, because you were there.” “No, I wasn’t.” “All right, then, you weren’t. I like you, Miss Lindsay, and I’ll stand by you. Now, you tell me what you want me to say, and I’ll say it.” “Oh, dear, I don’t want you to say anything that isn’t true. Why did you think I was there, if you didn’t see me?” “I heard you.” “Heard me talking?” “Yes.” “What did I say?” “You were asking Mr Gleason for money—a big sum.” “And you heard me ask him?” “I didn’t exactly hear you, you spoke very low, and I was behind a closed door. But I heard all Mr Gleason said—so I could tell.” “What did he say?” “He said, ‘twenty thousand dollars! I should say not! Not unless—well, you know my conditions.’ That’s exactly what he said. And then you murmured something, and he said, ‘You’re a Lindsay—you’re both Lindsays,’ but I don’t know whether he meant you and his sister, or you and your brother.” “What has my brother to do with it?” “I don’t know—but when he spoke of the two of you together, like that, I thought he meant you and Louis. But afterward, I thought he might have meant you and his sister, Mrs Lindsay.” “You know my brother? You call him Louis!” “Yes, I know him—not awfully well, but enough to call him anything I like. You don’t have to know anybody so very long to call him pet names.” “Pet names!” “Oh, come now, Miss Lindsay, don’t be so shocked. You’re probably more conventional than I am, but you must know a few things. Well, anyhow, I didn’t hear any more, because Mr Gleason shut the door, and I just scooted down the back way and home. I never knew whether you got the money you wanted or not. Did you?” Phyllis gasped. She was annoyed at the girl’s rudeness, but, after all, Ivy Hayes had a charm of her own, and it was impossible to feel deep resentment toward the flippant little thing. “I didn’t get it from Mr Gleason, because I didn’t ask him for it. I didn’t ask him for it, because I wasn’t there. I’ve never been there.”