Page:Love Insurance - Earl Biggers (1914).djvu/310

Rh miserably. "I'm just one of the pawns in the hands of the Master of the Show. I can't explain—"

"What is there to explain?" the girl asked coldly. "I congratulate you on a highly successful evening."

The elevator door banged shut between them.

Turning, Minot encountered Aunt Mary.

"You clever boy," she cried. "We are all so very grateful to you. You have saved us from a very embarrassing situation."

"Please don't mention it," Minot replied, and he meant it.

He sat down beside the dazed Harrowby on one of the lobby sofas.

"I'm all at sea, really, old chap," Harrowby confessed. "But I must say—I admire you tremendously. How the devil did you know the necklace was a fraud?"

"I didn't know—I guessed," said Minot. "And the thing that led me to make that happy guess was Tom Stacy's refusal to loan you money on it to-night. Mr. Stacy is no fool."