“They might put you on the spot, or take you for a ride. Hardly that, though. Not yet. You’ve not caused them enough trouble. But watch out. When the heavy hand falls, it falls hard.”
For a time he sat in an attitude of deep thought.
“So they’ve shelved Lane and Howe!” Johnny heard him mutter. “There’s something for the Voice. I’ll give it to him. And how he’ll love it! How he’ll ride ’em for it! Great boy, the Voice! But it’s a dangerous game. Suppose they find out. Just suppose they do?” He shrugged his shoulders, then shuddered.
“Who’s he talking about now?” Johnny wondered to himself. He wanted to ask who this Voice might be. He did not quite dare. So there, for a time, the matter dropped. But not for good nor for long. A new, powerful and altogether strange force was about to enter this uncertain and apparently uneven battle for the right.
CHAPTER XV
A HEAVY DATE
Grace Palmer, Curlie Carson learned at once, was the daughter of Professor Palmer, and sister to the child whose life he had done much to save.
“You brought her medicine. You saved her life. She is my only sister.” The young eyes were filled with honest tears of gratitude.
Curlie hated tears. They made him feel awkward and out of place.
But Grace Palmer was not one to spill them needlessly. She was a girl of purpose and strength. Grace Palmer, Curlie would discover soon enough, was not the average type of girl. Reared beneath the shadows of stately university buildings, she had unconsciously acquired something of their quiet dignity. At this moment she wore a hand-tailored suit of dark blue broadcloth. The suit made her appear a good deal older than she really was.
Yes, Grace Palmer was a dignified person. She was possessed of a good mind, and her father had seen to it that her mind was trained in the art of thinking. For all that, beneath the almost severe broadcloth coat there was a heart that was capable of beating very fast at the thought of mystery and adventure. She was not sorry to be on her present mission.