Page:Arthur Stringer - The Hand of Peril.djvu/158

 "And still I don't see what you expect out of all this?" was the somewhat scornful conclusion of the other woman.

"As I said before, I'm goin' to make that ol' guy marry me. Then I'll have him nailed for life! If he has the nerve to renig on the splice, I'll cinch him in the only way that's left. I'll clean him out, the first chanct that comes. I'll shovel up ev'ry sou and ev'ry piece of jool'ry I can get in a Gladstone bag an' beat it!"

"And what good will that do you?"

"It'll do me as much good as bein' shover for a note-printer who's goin' to be cornered before he can cry quits!"

There was a pause before either spoke again.

"I almost think you're right," finally admitted Maura Lambert. "I'm beginning to believe he will be cornered, in the end. I feel that we're cornered now, that nothing is safe any more. I always have the impression of being watched. I know I was shadowed to the door of this hotel this morning. And I know it will never be safe for me here!"

"Then what're you goin' to do about it?" was the unsympathetic inquiry.

"You came here to ask for help. But there's one thing in which I've got to ask you for help."

"What's that?"

"Wait a minute."

Kestner, through the silence that ensued, could not catch the sound of any movement, though he felt sure that one of them must have risen and crossed the room.