"And who does me the honor, pray?"
"I want you," said Nick, bluntly.
"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed it of you."
"Yet it is true, nevertheless."
"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?"
Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating eyes were making her secretly uneasy.
"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' trick which you perpetrated this afternoon."
Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly:
"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?"
"You'll find it no joke."