“André! André!” gasped Lotus, leaning heavily against him. “Is it really you? But yes! Your voice—your touch on my arm! I know them, though your face is queer in this light!”
“Of course, little Lotus bud!” laughed Don, slipping an arm about her shoulders. “You miss the moustache I had to shave off. But your ankle must be paining you a lot. Let me help you as far as the house!”
“To the house, André!” cried the girl. “You mean you’re not coming inside? Didn’t you come here to see me?”
“Please—not so loud!” warned the pseudo Count. “I can’t stop longer without making the men with me suspicious. It was just the accident of a blowout that made them stop here at all. I’ll explain everything when I see you next—say tomorrow night, at the Empire?”
“That’s a long time to wait, André, when I haven’t seen you for so long!” sighed Lotus, with a hint of disappointment. “I guess you know best, though. Suppose you meet me in the dining room, at that same little table in the corner—remember?”
“At seven o’clock,” agreed Don, as the girl turned with one gloved hand on the gate latch. “And I’m awfully glad your ankle isn’t really injured! Good night!”
Returning across the street, he found that Hammond’s chauffeur had about finished putting on the spare wheel. Hammond beckoned both officers into the car and closed the door after him. A moment later the motor started.
“Tell us about it, Commander,” the office man urged, as they turned in to a more brightly lighted section of the city. “You think the Lotus really took you for Count Borg? If she didn’t, it’s going to make things pretty difficult.”
“I don’t think you need to worry, Hammond,” Don replied. “Remember, the light was very dim, so she couldn’t have noticed small details. Of course, I had to explain the loss of my moustache.... By the way, I’ve got a dinner date with her for tomorrow evening at the Empire!”
“That ought to give us enough time to get fixed up and coached for our parts,” Red Pennington commented. “Gee, Don! What a lucky break! Our tire blowin’ out, and Lotus showin’ up at the same time! It all happened so naturally, not even the Scorpion himself could suspect anything queer.”