Purnell approached the party of young ladies, still acting the exquisite and playing the foreign count he pretended to be. He bowed and smirked, and backed away to Frank.
Instantly his face lost its mask. With a scowl he dropped his affected foreign drawl.
“You will have it out, here and now, will you?” he growled, grinding his teeth viciously.
“Yes, I’ll have it out, or you in,” responded Frank pointedly.
“Then come to my room.”
The false count led the way into the hotel, hurried up a staircase, and, unlocking a door on the second floor, ushered Frank into a room. He lit the gas and threw himself into a chair, glaring at Frank in a savage and desperate way.
“You’re a determined young man, you are,” he observed.
“Why not?” demanded Frank. “It has been the resolve of my life to hunt you down. If you escape me this time, I shall find you later. You are masquerading here under false pretences. I can expose you. Should I telegraph Mr. Beach, he would at once send an officer to arrest you.”
“That won’t help your case any,” observed the man.
“I don’t care. It will prove that Dorsett had a criminal for a partner, and that will influence the court when my mother’s suit comes to trial.”