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Page 79
"Oh, I guess it will. They often go away as suddenly as they come.
You know I've had them before."
Drummond's voice then spoke up.
"Did you see the Trimble ad. to-night?" he asked, evidently of
Annie. "They have a lot of new diamonds from Arkansas, they say,--
one of them is a big one, the Arkansas Queen, I believe they call
it."
"No, I didn't see the papers," replied Annie.
There was the rustle of a newspaper.
"Here's a picture of it. It must be great. I've heard a good deal
about it."
"Have you seen it?" asked Annie.
"No, but I intend to see it."
They had passed into the next room, and Constance, fearing to be
discovered, decided to get away before that happened.
Early the next morning she decided to call on Kitty, but by the time
Constance arrived at the apartment it was closed, and a neighbor
informed her that the two women had gone out together about half an
hour before.
Constance was nervous and, as she left the apartment, she did not
notice that a man who had been loitering about had quickened his
pace and overtaken her.
"So," drawled a voice, "you're traveling with shoplifters now."
She looked up quickly. This time she had run squarely into Drummond.
There was no concealment possible now. Her only refuge was silence.
She felt the hot tingle of indignation in her cheeks. But she said
nothing.
"Huh!" exclaimed Drummond, walking along beside her, and adding
contemptuously, "I don't know the young one, but you know who the
other is?"
Constance bit her lip.
"No?" he queried. "Then I'll show you."
He had taken from his pocket a bunch of oblong cards. Each bore, she
could see from the corner of her eye, a full face and a profile
picture of a woman, and on the back of the card was a little
writing.
He selected one and handed it to Constance. Instantly she recognized
the face. It was Annie Grayson, with half a dozen aliases written
after the name.
"There!" he fairly snorted. "That's the sort of people your little
friend consorts with. Why, they call Annie Grayson the queen of the
shoplifters. She has forgotten more about shoplifting than all the
rest will ever know."
Constance longed to ask him what had taken him to the Grayson flat
the night before, but thought better of it. There was no use in
angering Drummond further. Instead, she let him think that he had
succeeded in frightening her off.
She went back to her own apartment to wait and worry. Evidently
Drummond was pretty sure of something, or he would not have
disclosed his hand to her, even partially. She felt that she must
see Kitty before it was too late. Then the thought crossed her mind
that perhaps already it was too late. Drummond evidently was working
in some way for an alliance of the department stores outside.
Constance had had her own ideas about Kitty. And as she waited and
watched, she tried to reason how she might carry them out if she had
a chance.
She had just been insured, and had been very much interested in the
various tests that the woman doctor of the insurance company had
applied to her. One in particular which involved the use of a little
simple instrument that fitted over the forearm had interested her
particularly. She had talked to the doctor about it, and as she
talked an idea had occurred to her that it might have other uses
than those which the doctor made of it. She had bought one. While
she was waiting it occurred to her that perhaps it might serve her
purpose. She got the instrument out. It consisted of a little
arrangement that fitted over the forearm, and was attached by a tube
to a dial that registered in millimeters a column of mercury. Would
it really show anything, she wondered?
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