'I didn't take no powder,' argued Pinkey. 'The Shadow slugged me. My pals had to carry me out.'
'They didn't think of me, though did they?' retorted Maude. 'Which means that maybe you didn't, either.'
Pinkey was muttering when he hailed a taxi. Once in the cab, he decided to
humor Maude.
'All right,' he growled. 'You name the place - provided it ain't somewhere
that people are going to lamp me.'
'It won't be,' assured Maude.
The place where she took Pinkey was the one where she had dined with Cranston. Pinkey gave the surroundings a disgruntled stare, but was forced to admit that it was secluded. The little room was certainly a good spot where two
people could be alone.
The dinner, too, pleased Pinkey reasonably well, after Maude had translated the French terms that appeared on the bill-of-fare.
'You've got class, kid,' approved Pinkey. 'I've always said you had, ain't
I? That's why I never introduced you to the mugs I pal around with.'
'I've met Claude Ondrey,' reminded Maude.
'Yeah, but he ain't no mug,' rejoined Pinkey. 'I mean guys like - well, never mind who they are. They ain't in your class.'
'And maybe you aren't, either.'
Maude's remark brought an ugly stare from Pinkey. That glare didn't make the girl flinch.
'Whatta ya mean?' he growled.
'Figure it for yourself,' insisted Maude. 'You've always tried to bluff me, Pinkey. Why deny it?'
'I didn't drag you into the racket, did I?'
'You've come close to it. You haven't fooled me, Pinkey. I know you've framed things so I'd look as crooked as you are, it case you wanted to put me in wrong with the police.'
Pinkey gave a short laugh. He liked Maude's direct manner, especially because it was leading up to a plan that he had in mind.
'I suppose you want to ditch me,' he remarked, 'because you've fallen for this silk-hat guy. Say - what's the name of this bird who's too good with his dukes?'
'That's my business,' returned Maude, coolly. 'I haven't mentioned your name to him; so I'm not telling you who he is.'
PINKEY'S eyes showed a mingling of expressions. Through his mind were passing the thoughts that Maude wasn't the sort who would talk; also, that she was getting too ritzy in her ideas, to suit him.
After all, Pinkey decided, blondes were plentiful; and what Pinkey liked about most of the ones that he had met was the fact that he had found them dumb. He'd made a bad guess with Maude. She was smart.
That had seemed good, at first. If she'd turned crooked, and acted dumb, she could have helped in Pinkey's business. But Maude had never listened to reason along those lines.
What Pinkey wanted, most of all, was to outsmart her. He knew that if he did, Maude would be through with him forever; but that seemed likely, anyway.
Right now, Pinkey saw how she could be useful; and the time was right for his proposition. 'You've taken a shine to the silk-hat guy, ain't you, kid?' he questioned. 'All right - suppose we do call it quits. How would you like that?'
'I'd like it a lot,' admitted Maude, frankly. 'But get this straight, Pinkey: I'm not trying to make this fellow fall for me. He's just a friend, that's all.'
'I'd figured that,' nodded Pinkey. 'What you're hoping is, that he'll introduce you to a lot of other stuffed shirts, so you can go ritzy.'
'That's partly so,' admired Maude. 'Of course -'
'Never mind the rest. If this guy is the real McCoy, and really knows people, you're welcome to him.'
Maude's eyes widened. For a moment, she thought that Pinkey was getting big-hearted; then she began to look for the catch. It came.
'Tomorrow,' undertoned Pinkey, 'there's a swell cocktail party being thrown on Long Island, at the home of a dame named Mrs. Rothmorton. This guy you talk about ought to be able to crash the gate, and take you with him.'
Maude agreed that such might be the case.
'There, you'll meet a doll named Beth Jondran,' continued Pinkey. 'All you've got to do is find out when she's coming into town, and how. Nobody's going to know it, if you spill me that news.'
'And in return?' asked Maude.
'It's quits for you and me,' returned Pinkey. 'Everything forgotten.
We've
never heard of each other.'
Maude wanted to hold back acceptance, but she couldn't. The words fairly sprang to her lips; before she knew it, she was thanking Pinkey, and giving full agreement.
'O.K., kid,' declared Pinkey. 'But remember' - his eyes went ugly - 'you go through with it, or else -'
'I'll go through with it,' interposed Maude, 'provided nothing is going to
happen to this Jondran girl.'
'She won't be hurt. That's understood.'
WHEN Pinkey and Maude went from the little cafe, a figure emerged from the
hallway phone booth. The Shadow had been there all the while; he had overheard the entire conversation. The wiring that ran from the dinner table to the telephone booth was equipped with a two-way hookup.
Maude wasn't at her apartment very long before she received a phone call from Cranston. One hour later, they were sixty-odd stories above Manhattan's streets, watching the floor show in an exclusive night club. Maude found her chance to mention tomorrow's party at the Rothmorton residence.
Cranston, she learned, was a welcome guest there and would be glad to attend the party, if Maude went with him. The girl was enthusiastic with her thanks, and she was genuinely pleased at the prospect of meeting persons who were socially prominent.
But with it, Maude showed a certain restrained bitterness that few persons
other than The Shadow would have noticed. He knew what was on Maude's mind.
She
didn't like the task that she had to perform for Pinkey Findlen. To Maude's credit, the girl would probably have turned down the offer that Pinkey made her, if it hadn't given her a chance for absolute freedom, along with another factor.
The other item was that Maude knew how tough Pinkey would become, if he wanted his way. If she hadn't taken his promise, he would have changed it to a threat. There were probably ways where Pinkey could have forced her to go through with the plot against Beth Jondran.
There had been times, Maude had heard, when Pinkey planted phony servants in swell households. He could manage to do that with her, if he wanted; and supply a trigger-man to watch her.
During the rest of the evening, Maude was impelled by a huge desire to confess everything to Cranston. At moments, she hated herself, because she didn't tell her story. At other times, she calmed enough to reason that if she spoke the truth, Cranston would also be placed in danger.
All the while, Maude was confident that she had kept those thoughts from the man who had befriended her. Actually, The Shadow recognized everything that
passed in Maude's mind. That wasn't difficult, since he already knew her story.
Maude reached her apartment soon after midnight. She hadn't long to wait, before Pinkey called. From his cautious tone, Maude decided that he had broken his usual rule and was calling her from his hide-out.
As she heard Pinkey's voice, she wished with all her might that she knew where the hide-out was, for she was in a mood to finish Pinky's entire game.
The big-shot didn't state that information. He merely wanted to know if Maude had arranged matters for
