XVI
Zenda Films, Incorporated, occupied the tenth, eleventh, and twelfthfloors of the newly named--though Clancy didn't know it--Zenda Building.In the lobby was a list of the building's tenants, and it stated thatthe executive offices of Zenda Films were on the tenth floor.
An office-boy heard her name, asked if she had an appointment, andreluctantly, upon her stating that she had, turned toward an inner room,casting over his shoulder the statement that he didn't think Mr. Zendawas in.
But from the room toward which he was making his sullen way--that sullenway peculiar to office-boys--emerged a tall young man, garbed in theheight of Broadway fashion. He advanced beamingly to Clancy.
"Miss Deane? Please come right in."
Clancy followed him through the door, across an inner room, and into afurther chamber beyond. And the instant she was inside that second room,Clancy knew that she had been a gullible fool, for instead of Zenda, shebeheld Grannis.
But what was somehow more terrifying still, she saw beside Grannis, histhick features not good-humored to-day, the face of Weber. She didn'tscream--Clancy was not the sort who would use valued and needed energyin vocalities--she turned. But the tall youth had deftly locked the doorbehind her. He faced her with a triumphant grin, then stepped quicklyto one side; the key which he had been holding in his hand hetransferred to the hand of Grannis, who put it, with an air of grimfinality, into his trousers pocket.
Clancy knew when she was beaten, knew, at least, when the first roundhad gone against her. She did the one thing that rendered uncertain themental attitudes of her captors. She walked coolly to a chair and sat.
Grannis, expecting to see a girl reduced by fright to hysteria, eyed herbewilderedly. He had intended to be calm, intending, by calm, toconvince Clancy that her danger was the greater. Now he lapsed, at thestart, into nervous irritation, the most certain sign of indecision.
"Pretty cool about it, Miss Deane, aren't you?"
Clancy knew, somehow, that her cool desperation had given her, in someinexplicable fashion, an equally inexplicable advantage.
"Why not?" she asked.
Grannis' sallow face reddened.
"Will you feel that way when you see a policeman?" he demanded.
"You talked about policemen yesterday," said Clancy. "Don't talk aboutthem to-day. I want to see Mr. Zenda," she added.
Weber interjected himself into the scene.
"I suppose you do. But you see, Florine, my little dear, we're seeingyou first. And you're seeing us first."
"Pretty clever of you, writing to Zenda," said Grannis. "Never occurredto you that, getting a letter from you, I might run through Zenda'smail, looking for a note in the same handwriting, eh?"
"No-o, it didn't," said Clancy slowly. "Yet, I suppose I should haveknown that one kind of crook is another kind, too."
Grannis nodded his head. His underlip came forward a trifle.
"I'll give you credit; you're game enough. If being a fool can be calledgameness. And any one that parts with a thousand dollars in this town iscertainly a fool. But _that's_ all right. You probably don't need money.'Little Miss Millions' is your name, I suppose."
Clancy yawned.
"I don't want to hurt your feelings, Mr. Grannis, but if you're beingfunny, I somehow can't get it."
"You will!" snapped Grannis. "Look here, Miss Deane! You're breakinginto matters that don't concern you."
"I suppose I am," said Clancy.
She turned to Weber.
"I understood that New York's climate was bad for you," she said.
"Not half as unhealthy as it's going to be for you, Florine," heretorted. "You can make up your mind this minute. Either out of town foryours or the Tombs. Take your pick."
He had advanced threateningly until he stood over Clancy. Grannis pushedhim aside.
"Let me handle her," he said. "Now, let's get down to cases, Miss Deane.Ike never done anything to you, did he?" Clancy shrugged. "'Course hedidn't," said Grannis. "Then why not be a regular feller and keep out ofthings that don't concern you? Zenda never paid the rent for you, didhe? No. We're willing to pay the rent and the eats, too, for a longwhile to come. That thousand is only a part. Listen: Ike got me on thelong-distance last night. I told him it's O. K. to come back to town,that Zenda, with you keeping your face closed, couldn't do a thing tohim. And then I get your letter this morning, and grab your note toZenda. I find out that you're giving me the double cross. Well, we won'tquarrel about it. Maybe you think Zenda is a heavier payer than I'd be.But you'd have to gamble on that, wouldn't you? You don't have to gambleon me. You take ten thousand dollars and leave town for just six months.That's all I ask. How about it?"
"I thought that you were Zenda's partner," said Clancy. Her pretty lipscurled in the faintest contemptuous sneer.
"Never mind about that," snapped Grannis. "You're not talking to anyone's partner, now. You're just talking to me."
"And me," put in Weber.
"And both of you want me to help you in swindling Mr. Zenda?" saidClancy.
Weber took a step toward her, his big fist clenched. Once again, Grannisintervened.
"Never mind the rough stuff, Ike!" he cried. "Let me handle her. Now,Miss Deane, are you going to listen to sense? Ike is back in town. Hedon't feel like skipping out every time you get a change of heart. Andlisten to this: Ike is a good-hearted guy, at that. All you can tellZenda won't _prove_ anything. It'll just cause a lot of trouble--that'sall. It'll make a bunch of scandal, you claiming that Fay Marston toldyou that Ike was gyping Zenda, but it won't _prove_ much."
"I don't suppose that your offering me money to leave town will proveanything, either," said Clancy.
"I'll just say you lie," said Grannis.
"I wonder which one of us Mr. Zenda will believe," retorted Clancy.
"I've never been in jail. I've got no criminal record," said Grannis.
"Neither have I!" cried Clancy.
Grannis smiled. It was a nasty smile, a smile that chilled Clancy. Theadvantage that she had felt was somehow hers seemed to have left her.She became suddenly just what she always was, a young girl, unwise inthe ways of the metropolis. Courage, desperation made her forget this,but when courage ebbed, though ever so slightly, she became fearful,conscious of a mighty aloneness. She felt this way now.
For Grannis turned and walked to a farther door, opposite the one whichthe tall youth had locked. He opened it and cried out dramatically,
"Come in, Mrs. Weber!"
Clancy's fingers stopped drumming on the table. She eyed, wonderinglyand fearfully, the tall figure of Fay Marston, who was cloaked in ashort squirrel-skin jacket. Below that appeared the skirt of a dark-bluedress. Her shoes, despite the inclement weather, were merely slippers.Her blond hair was almost entirely hidden by a jaunty hat, also of asquirrel-skin. Altogether, she was an amazingly prosperous-seemingindividual. And she was the sort of person to whom prosperity wouldalways bring insolence of manner. Her expression now was languidlyinsulting as she looked at Clancy.
"This the woman?" asked Grannis.
Fay nodded.
"She's the one."
"No question about it, is there?" demanded Weber.
"Why, you know there isn't," said Fay, in apparent surprise. "I took herto Zenda's party at the Chateau de la Reine, and, later, up to hisapartment. You was with us all the time."
"Yes," said Weber; "but two identifications are better than one, youknow." He turned to Grannis. "You might as well call him in," he said.
Grannis had been standing by the door. He swung it wide, and called,
"Come in, officer."
Clancy's fingers clenched. It seemed to her like a scene in a play or amoving picture--Fay's identification of her, Grannis' dramatic manner atthe door, and now the entrance of a policeman.
Grannis pointed to Clancy.
"Arrest her, officer!" he cried.
The uniformed man moved toward Clancy. She shrunk away from him.
"What for?" she cri
ed.
"You'll find out soon enough," said the policeman, with a grin.
Fay Marston laughed shrilly.
"Ain't that like a thief, though? Trust her kind to have nerve!"
"'Thief!'" Clancy stared at her.
"Thief's what I said, and it's what I mean, too."
It was too absurd! Had the charge been that of murder, Clancy would nothave laughed. That charge would soon be made against her. But, untilit was----
"What am I supposed to have stolen?" Clancy asked.
"You ain't _supposed_ to have stolen anything," said Weber. "You're_known_ to have stolen a pearl necklace from my wife."
"A pearl necklace," said Fay glibly. "She came into my room at theNapoli. I was packin', officer, gettin' ready to take a little trip withmy husband. I asked her to pack the necklace and some other things forme. She said she'd put them in a bag. The necklace was missin' when Iopened the bag next day."
Clancy laughed. It was ridiculous.
"You can't arrest me on a story like that!" she cried.
"Not if we produce the pawnbroker where you pawned the pearls?" sneeredWeber.
"You can't," said Clancy.
Yet, as she looked from his sneering face to the threatening eyes ofGrannis, she wondered whether or not they could. She had read of"frame-ups." Was it possible that she was to be the victim of one?
"Like to talk it over a bit?" asked Grannis. She made no verbal answer,but her expression was reply enough. "Wait in the next room, officer,"said Grannis.
The policeman looked undecided.
"It ain't regular," he muttered.
"I know it isn't," said Grannis, "but--under the circumstances----"
"All right," said the officer.
He walked through the door, which Grannis closed after him. ThenZenda's sallow-faced partner came close to Clancy.
"I'm going to talk turkey," he declared. "You've butted in on a gamethat's a whole lot bigger than you are, little girl. We don't want toride you, but we ain't going to let you ride us, neither. It's up toyou. Fay will swear that you took her necklace. We've got a pawnbrokerall lined up. He'll not only identify you but he'll produce his booksand the necklace that you stole. We're in earnest. Now--will you taketen thousand and--get?"
Clancy was beaten; she knew it; at least, she had lost the second round.That it was the final round she could not believe. And yet, if sherefused their money, they'd not believe her. They would take her tojail. By this time, Vandervent's men were doubtless searching for her.With the ten thousand dollars she might flee. She wouldn't use a pennyof it. But she'd take it, merely in order that they'd believe her. Shelet Grannis press the money into her hand.
Head down, she heard Grannis call in the policeman and state that shehad promised to make restitution. The policeman, with some grumbling,left. Clancy supposed that it was an ordinary sort of thing; the officerwas venal, would be unfaithful to his duty for the sake of a fewdollars.
She listened apathetically to Grannis' threats. They didn't interesther. New York had whipped her.
Yet, when she left the building, she stopped before a hotel across thestreet. There she tried to engage a taxi-cab to take her up to ParkAvenue. But the taximen were emulating their millionaire brethren. Theywere profiteering. Inasmuch as the travel was difficult because of thesnow, the man wanted triple fare. Clancy couldn't afford it.
She tramped across Forty-second Street to Fifth Avenue, fought her way,buffeted by the wind, up to Forty-eighth, and then crossed over to Parkavenue. She didn't know exactly where Zenda lived, but she did know thatit was a corner apartment-building on the east side of the avenue. Herfourth inquiry was rewarded with the information that Zenda lived there.But when her name was telephoned up-stairs, word came back that Mr.Zenda had been taken ill last night with influenza, and was unconsciousat the moment.
She turned away. The Fates were against Clancy and with her enemies.
Still--she had ten thousand dollars in her pocketbook. One could do agreat deal with ten thousand dollars. But she dismissed the temptationas quickly as it had come to her. She'd go home and wait the certainarrival of Vandervent's men.
She shrugged, her lips curling in a self-amused smile. She'd beenfrightened at arrest on a trumped-up charge, while imminent arrest on acharge that would be supported by strong circumstantial evidence wasjust round the corner. She was a funny person, this Clancy. Littlethings scared her; big things-- But big things scared her, too. For whenMrs. Gerand met her at the door of the lodging-house, after Clancy hadsurvived the perilous journey down Fifth Avenue on the 'bus, thelandlady's first words were that a gentleman awaited her. Not untilRandall had held her hand a full minute could Clancy realize that itwasn't a detective from the district attorney's office.