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Page 62
"Perhaps I intended to a little later."
"Yes!" she exclaimed, in mockery. "You see, since Mecca won't go
to the pilgrim, the pilgrim has to come to Mecca."
"Did you ever hear of Mohammed and the mountain, Miss Faye?"
Kennedy asked.
"Of course! That's the regular expression. But I agree with
Barnum. As he said, some people can be original some of the time
and some people can be original all of the time, and I propose to
be original always, like a baby with molasses."
Kennedy laughed, for indeed she was irresistible. Then she turned
to me, placing one of her warm little hands upon mine.
"And Jamie!" she purred. "Have you forgotten little Enid
altogether? Won't--won't YOU come down and dance?"
"I--I can't!" I exploded, in agony. "I don't know how!" And I
thought that I would never dare trust myself with her glistening
shoulders clasped close to me, with her slim bare arm placed
around my neck as I had watched it slip about the collar of
Millard.
"Now that the pilgrim is at Mecca--" Kennedy suggested,
interrupting cruelly, as I thought.
"Oh!" In an instant I sensed that I was forgotten, and I was
hurt. "There's something which came out this afternoon at the
studio," she began, "and I wonder if you know. Larry--that's Mr.
Millard--assures me it is true, and--and I think you ought to
hear about it. I--I want to assist all I can in solving the
mystery of Stella Lamar's death, even though Stella's unfortunate
end has meant my opportunity."
"What is it, Miss Faye?" Kennedy was studying her.
"It's about Jack Gordon. He's been trying to hold up the company
for fifteen hundred a week, which would double his salary--
perhaps you've heard that?"
Kennedy nodded, although it was news to him. "I've been thinking
about Gordon," he murmured.
"Anyway," she went on, "it's gone around that he's desperately in
need of money and that that is why he's so insistent upon the
increase. It seems he owes everyone. In particular he owes Phelps
some huge sums and old Phelps is on his tail, hollering and
raising Ned. Phelps, you know, has uses for money himself just
now. You had heard?"
Again Kennedy evaded a direct answer. "Money is fearfully tight,
of course," he remarked, encouraging her to continue.
"Yes," she repeated, "Phelps is terribly hard up and after
Gordon. And that's not all about our handsome leading man, Mr.
Kennedy." She leaned forward. A certain intensity crept into her
voice. She began to toy with his sleeve with the slender fingers
of one hand, as though in that manner to compel his greater
attention. "You know Stella Lamar really was in love with Jack
Gordon. In fact she was daffy over him. And now I've found out
that he was borrowing money from her, was taking nearly every
cent she earned to sink in his speculations. Do you get that?"
Enid's eyes snapped.
Most certainly I understood. I knew well the type of Stella. She
had made many men give up to her motor cars, expensive furs,
jewelry, all manner of presents. But in the end she had found one
man to whom she in turn was willing to yield all. But what of
him?
"In the last few weeks, they tell me, poor Stella disposed of
many of her handsome presents from men like Manton and Phelps and
others, all to get money to give to him. At the end she even
raised money on her jewelry. I--I think you'll find it all in
pawn now, if you'll investigate. I don't doubt but that poor
Stella died without a penny to her name."
I was so surprised at this information that I failed to study
Kennedy's face. I was completely jolted from my own rapt
contemplation of the very soft curves of Enid's back. For here
was a motive at last! Gordon was a possible suspect I had failed
to take even halfway seriously. Yet the leading man was
desperately pressed for money, had had a disgraceful fight with
Phelps as we already knew; and not only owed huge sums to his
fiancee as Enid now explained, but had quarreled with her just
prior to her death, according to his own admission in the
investigation at Tarrytown.
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