Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/323

 "Who lives on the floor below?"

"Oh, a Spaniard and his wife; but they ain't been here for two weeks now. They pay all the same."

"And on the second story?"

"Oh, I live there myself with my dog."

Suddenly Astro exclaimed aloud, "The deuce! I've dropped my hat. How stupid! I'll have to go down in the yard and get it."

"Never mind; I'll go down," said the woman.

Astro, however, insisted, and before she had a chance to offer again he was running down-stairs. A sign to Valeska told her to occupy the woman's attention for a while; and this Valeska did successfully. Finally she and the landlady walked down-stairs, the girl talking with animation, the woman giggling and laughing and showing a set of big good-natured dimples. They waited in the hall for Astro to return. He shook hands with the landlady cordially. "I'll let you know about the room, if I want it," he said. "But I like the landlady better than I do the room. What are they doing on West Fourth Street?" he continued. "Digging for a new drain?"

"Yes," she said. "All the time they are digging up, somewheres. It makes me tired, this New York! I wish they'd get it finished."

"When will your lodger come back to pack up his things?"

"Oh, I wish I knew my own self. He's a crook, I think, that man; he's got a bad eye. All the time he brings such funny things home. Bags and things, and sometimes watches."

As soon as Astro and Valeska were alone he smiled and said, "Well, it's as easy as I said it was going to