“But surely you will withdraw?” The older man’s voice rose cholerically. “Miss Lawton is a mere girl, a minor, in fact––”
“I am over eighteen, Mr. Mallowe,” interposed Anita quietly.
“Until your proper guardian is appointed by the courts,” Mallowe cried, “you are nominally under my care, mine and others of your father’s closest associates. This is a delicate matter to discuss now, Mr. Blaine,” he added, in calmer tones, turning to the detective, “but since this seems to be a business interview, we must touch upon the question of finances. I know that the fee you naturally require must be a large one, and I am in duty bound to tell you that Miss Lawton has absolutely no funds at her disposal to reimburse you for your time and trouble. Whatever fortune she may be possessed of, she cannot touch now.”
“Miss Lawton has already fully reimbursed me––in advance,” returned Henry Blaine calmly. “That question need cause you no further concern, Mr. Mallowe, nor need you have any doubt as to my position in this matter. I’m on this case, and I’m on it to stay! I’m going to find Ramon Hamilton!”
CHAPTER XVI
THE LIBRARY CHAIR
“Paddington’s on the run!” Ross, the operative, announced to Henry Blaine the next morning, jubilantly. “He left his rooms about an hour after I got back on the job, and went to Carlis’ office. He only stayed a short time, and came out looking as black as a thunder-cloud––I guess the interview, whatever it was, didn’t go his way. He went straight from there to Rockamore, the promoter. I pretended an errand with Rockamore, too, and so got into the outer office. The heavy glass door was closed between, and I couldn’t hear anything but a muffled growling from within, but they were both angry enough, all right. Once the stenographer went in and came out again almost immediately. When the door opened to admit her, I heard Paddington fairly shout:
“‘It’s your own skin you’re saving, you fool, as well as mine! If I’m caught, you all go! Carlis thinks he can bluff it, and Mallowe’s a superannuated, pig-headed old goat. He’ll try to stand on his reputation, and cave in like a pricked balloon when the crash comes. I know his kind; I’ve hounded too many of ’em to the finish. But you’re a man of sense, Rockamore, and you know you’ve got to help me out of this for your own sake. I tell you, some one’s on to the whole game, and they’re just sitting back and waiting for the right moment to nab us. They not only learn every move we make––they anticipate them! It’s every man for himself, now, and I warn you that if I’m cornered in this––’