He gave it grave attention. Helen was not afraid to talk plainly to him, and she held nothing back. But at the best, her story was somewhat disconnected and incomplete. She possessed very few details of the crime which had been committed. Mr. Morrell himself had been very hazy in his statements regarding the affair.
“What we want first,” declared Dud, impressively, “is to get the facts. Of course, at the time, the trouble must have made some stir. It got into the newspapers.”
“Oh, dear, yes,” said Helen. “And that is what Uncle Starkweather is afraid of. He fears it will get into the papers again if I make any stir about it, and then there will be a scandal.”
“With his name connected with it?”
“Yes.”
“He’s dreadfully timid for his own good name; isn’t he?” remarked Dud, sarcastically. “Well, first of all, I’ll get the date of the occurrence and then search the files of all the city papers. The reporters usually get such matters pretty straight. To misstate such business troubles is skating on the thin ice of libel, and newspapers are careful.
“Well, when we have all the facts before us—what people surmised, even, and how it looked to ‘the man on the street,’ as the saying is—then we’ll know better how to go ahead.
“Are you willing to leave the matter to me, Helen?”
“What did I give you a retainer for?” demanded the girl from Sunset Ranch, smiling.
“True,” he replied, his own eyes dancing; “but there is a saying among lawyers that the feminine client does not really come to a lawyer for advice; rather, she pays him to listen to her talk.”