"You always did have speed, Kid," remarked Bill. "Oh, well, it's nothing in our young lives. Where do we go from here? Where's Pete?"
He glanced around and beheld not only Pete, but Mary Wayne.
Bill slowly flushed a fiery red and his eyes widened to almost twice their size. He faltered for an instant, then rushed forward.
"Miss Norcross! Why, what in thunder——"
"I had to bring her, sir," said Pete, hastily dropping into character. "They wouldn't accept me as additional security, sir."
Bill hesitated. The cool gaze of his secretary upset him far more than if she had flung scorn in her glance.
"Oh, I'm awfully sorry," he began. "I wouldn't have had you come here for all the world. It isn't right. It's a shame! Why—— Peter, how dared you bring Miss Norcross to this place? No; don't try to make any excuses. You ought to be thrashed for it."
"Your valet was not to blame in the least degree," said Mary, in a frosty tone. "It appears that it was necessary for me to come."
"Yes, sir," echoed Pete.
"I don't care," stormed Bill. "It's no place for her. I won't have it. I'd sooner lose a leg than have Miss Norcross come here."