“As we know,” Mr. Hammond said quietly. “You have come into our personnel since Miss Fielding left it, Howell, and that is probably why you lack confidence in her ability. You said just now that this girl was a good director in her own field. You forget that this was her original field, the stepping stone to her present success. No, my dear fellow, you may safely lull your fears to rest. In my own mind I have not the slightest doubt that this afternoon’s conference has saved to the Alectrion Film Corporation a full forty thousand dollars!”
If Ruth had heard this tribute she would have thrilled with pride at such a proof of Mr. Hammond’s confidence in her. It would have done her good too, for, strangely enough, her confidence in herself had been rather severely shaken by the detection of spying Charlie Reid that afternoon.
“I don’t like it, Tom. I don’t like it at all,” she said, as they sped uptown toward the hotel at which they were stopping while in New York. “Bloomberg wouldn’t have planted Charlie Reid there to overhear our conference with Mr. Hammond if he hadn’t had a good and sufficient reason.”
“Perhaps,” said Tom, looking at her flushed face and thinking how pretty she was, “Bloomberg didn’t plant Charlie at all. How do you know Reid wasn’t there on his own business?”
But Ruth shook her head positively.
“He has no reason to wish me harm,” she pointed out. “Except as Bloomberg’s agent. Besides, I don’t believe Charlie Reid has brains enough to act on his own account. Bloomberg was always the brains, Charlie the tool. I wish,” she ended, a bit plaintively, “I knew what the real answer was!”
“Now don’t worry,” Tom protested. “If Bloomberg has any crooked little game up his sleeve, we’ll find it out soon enough. And when he starts something we’ll very soon show him who is going to finish it. You beat him once, Ruth, and that only goes to show you can beat him again, and worse.”
A dimple appeared at the corner of Ruth’s mouth.
“The law of averages——”
“Oh, bother the law of averages,” Tom interrupted, good-naturedly. “It isn’t going to work in this case. Besides, here we are at our station!”