Page:The Breath of Scandal (1922).djvu/330

 by a man willing to bargain who, partly influenced by Whittaker's frantic appeals, partly induced by Billy's business card and two hundred dollars cash bonus then and there paid, exchanged cars with Whittaker. And so Billy went on.

He arrived at Cragero's a few minutes after eleven o'clock and found Rinderfeld's roadster parked. The testimony of all present in the public rooms agreed that the large, light-haired, hatless man who entered was in a state of extreme excitement,—so extreme, indeed, that several were badly frightened, thinking him actually crazy.

He did not find, in the public rooms, the sought and after an abusive argument with the proprietor, he rushed upstairs and began beating on doors and shouting. Then he attacked the house "bouncer." The testimony agreed that the bouncer, although provoked, made no attack but merely tried to stop the disturbances; when grappled, he tried to free himself and while they were struggling, they fell or tripped and threw themselves violently downstairs. The big, light-haired man happened to fall under and he struck very violently.

At the bottom, the bouncer got up; but the big, light-haired man made no move and his head turned back in a strange position.

"He's taken his, Cragero!" the bouncer realized and whispered the alarm to the circle closing about. "This guy's got his."

And then a door above, upon which Billy had been pounding thirty seconds before, opened and a cool, dark-haired man gazed down.