“I am the secretary.” The girl paused and then added, “I understand perfectly, sir. Will you be seated, please? Miss Lawton had not told me of her appointment here with you. She will without doubt arrive shortly.”
Henry Blaine seated himself, and as she started to turn back to her desk, he asked quickly:
“You must find the work here very interesting, do you not? We––our firm––have erected several philanthropic institutions of learning and recreation, but none precisely on this order. Miss Lawton has shown us the plans of this present club and we consider the arrangement of the dormitories particularly ingenious, with regard to economy of space and the requisite sunlight and air.”
“Oh, yes!” The girl turned toward him swiftly, her face suffused with interest. “Miss Lawton drew all the plans herself, and they were not changed in the least. I don’t see how they could possibly be improved upon. Miss Lawton has done splendid work here, sir; the club has been a wonderful success since it was first opened.”
“It must have been.” The detective paused, then added easily, “I know that her late father was very proud of her executive ability. You––er––you educate young women here, do you not, and train them for positions?”
“We not only train the members of the club, but obtain positions for them, with reputable business firms,” the girl answered.
“Indeed?” Blaine asked, with apparent surprise. “What sort of positions do the members of your club fill?”
“Whatever they are capable of acquiring a working knowledge of. Filing clerks, stenographers, secretaries, switchboard operators, telegraphers, even governesses. We have never had a failure, and I think it is because Miss Lawton gives not only her personal attention, but real love and faith to each girl. She is––wonderful.”
The face of the young woman was rapt as she spoke, and Blaine could guess without further explanation that she herself was a protégée of Miss Lawton’s, and a grateful one––unless she were playing a part. If so, she was an actress of transcendent ability.