"So this is the end of my good resolutions," she laughed, and snatched a garment recklessly from its hook. "Now for all the miserable tricks of the trade!"
CHAPTER XVI
WILLIS MARSH COMES OUT FROM COVER
George Balt, Clyde, and Fraser formed a glum trio as they sat in a nook of the hotel cafe, sipping moodily at their glasses, when, on the following afternoon, Emerson joined them. But they sensed some untoward happening even before he spoke; for his face wore a look of dazed incredulity, and his manner was so extraordinary that they questioned in chorus:
"What's the matter? Are you sick?"
"No," said he. "But I—I must have lost my mind."
"What is it?"
"The trick is turned."
"The trick!"
"I have raised the money."