Part 42 (1/2)

”That wouldn't be fair,” he said. ”You certainly earned your fee in this case. Why, you look five years older than when you came up into my rooms with that little pistol!”

Drew touched his mustache. He closed his lips. Fatigue swept over him as he said huskily:

”I've aged, yes. Well, I guess I have. The responsibility was more than I expected.”

”How much?” asked Loris, opening the check-book.

Drew raised his eyes to the ceiling. A faint smile brightened his olive skin and brought out the fullness of his cheeks.

”Five thousand dollars,” he said, without glancing at Loris.

She dipped the pen into the ink well, leaned her elbow on the leaf of the writing desk and hastily scratched a check with angular writing which had certainly been cultivated in a select boarding school. She turned, waved the check in the air, then rose and advanced toward the detective, who had not lowered his eyes.

”Thank you,” she said, holding out the oblong of tinted paper. ”I want to thank you.”

Nichols stared at the detective. The soldier's eyes were like bayonets beneath a parapet. He had thought the figure rather high. Loris had no one to advise her save himself and the presence of Drew had tied his tongue.

”I want to thank you,” repeated Loris.

Drew lowered his eyes and reached for the check. He glanced at it, started folding two edges, then smiled brightly as he crossed the room, picked up the mother-of-pearl penholder and dipped it into the ink.

”I'll endorse it,” he said, flattening out the check with his palm.

”I'll endorse it so that it can be transferred.”

”To whom?” asked Loris.

”Why, to where it belongs. Do you think that I could take it? It's too much in the first place. In the second place I'm going to do my full bit from now on. What do you say, if we endorse this over to the American Red Cross? It'll buy beds and bandages and it'll help out all around!”

Loris lifted her eyes beneath her down dropping lashes. She smiled with tiny puckerings at the corners of her mouth. The glance was so archly sweet that Drew felt it was more than a reward. He caught her mood and hastily dashed off his signature across the back of the check.

”You present it to them,” he said. ”Take it with my compliments to the treasurer of your own division. I'll venture they will not question the signature.”

Nichols' hand crept out. It clasped over Drew's fingers in a soldier's grip. The two men faced each other. Drew reached up his left arm and patted the captain on the shoulder. ”Two bars,” he said. ”I hope to see stars there,” he added sincerely. ”Stars, when you come back from the conquest of Berlin.”

”They'll be there!” declared Loris with flas.h.i.+ng eyes. ”Harry will get them!”

Delaney peered through the portieres despite his instructions to the contrary.

”All set, Chief,” he said. ”I hear Fosd.i.c.k downstairs.”

”Coming,” said Drew, as he turned away from Loris and Nichols.

The two detectives paused in the center of the room. The mound under the splendid rug held their eyes for a fleeting moment. The ends of the telephone wires lay across the hardwood floor. They glanced at these.

”No trace!” said Drew. ”We needn't tell Fosd.i.c.k much. Come on!”

Delaney held out the detective's coat and hat. Drew thrust his arms into his silk-lined sleeves, pulled the hat down over his eyes and swung as the big operative turned his shoulder.