The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-03-20
CHAPTER VIII
The Solder


behind her and what she expected. as
far as she'd clearly expected anything.
had been to see Claire at the desk In
quiring for Mr.. Forster.
Claire was nowhere to be seen. Very
likely she hadn't had to ask at the
desk but had ridden straight up in one
of the elevators. Having lost contact
with her quarry, Rhoda sat down in
one Of the massive armchairs In the
lobby to think things out little.
What ground had she for assuming
that Claire had come here to see For
sterf Well, it was quite reasonable
when you considered it. Out Of the
whole tissue of lies Claire had told at
lunch the one emergent truth had
been the genuineness of her hatred of
Forster and her belief that he hated
her.
He might be, Rhoda perceived, just
as unpleasant a person as Claire had
painted him, or he might be perfectly
benevolent, potential friend. The adj
vertisement in the paper, that Rhoda
would learn something to her advan-
tage by applying to him, might be true.
He couldn't be dangerous-not physi-
cally dangerously he couldn't even
walk without the aid Of two canes.
And II he was the man who had
brought her and Babe downtown this
morning, as she didn't doubt he was,
he now knew where she worked If not
where she lived; and this meant she
couldn't avoid him unless she moved
out Of the studio and got new job.
II she was going to see him. what bet
ter strategic opportunity could she
have for the visit than while Claire
was there quarreling with him?
She started across the lobby toward
the desk to ask If Mr.. G. J. Forster
lived there. She needn't actually go
I'D to Mr.. Forster's apartment unless
she wanted to. An inquiry at the desk
wouldn't commit her to anything.
But. in the strangest way, it did.
The clerk didn't directly answer her
question, whether Mr.. G. J. Forster
lived there or not. He asked for her
name instead. But the moment she
gave it Gas Rhoda White) his manner
became alert and deferential.
"Oh, yes, Miss White" he said, and
nodded to a bell-boy.
His ml1ner so strangely suggested
that he Kew all about her and had
been eagerly awaiting her arrival, both
manifest impossibilities, that she
felt like backing away and saying it
was all q mistake. She was family
amused and family frightened, but
more than either she was curious to
follow the adventure through and see
what happened. The clerk had prob
ably mixed her up with some one else.
Anyhow, Mr.. Forster must be pretty
important person in this hotel to evoke
a zeal like that, even though it was
mistaken.
The bell-boy, on getting instructions.
conducted her over to the elevators.
Fright up" he said to the elevator
boy, "all the way" The bell-boy fol-
lowed her in and the car ran all the
way to the twenty-fourth floor, re-
CARELESS Of signals.
In the mixture of Rhoda's emotions
the element of fear gained little at
the expense Of amusement. She be-
gan to feel that she'd started some
thing she might not be able to stop.
The twenty-fourth floor appeared to
be the topmost. There were red
Down" lights only over all the eleva-
tor doors. 1t didn't appear to be a
regular hotel floor either, at least not
the whole OF it, for the broad corri-
dor was cut off by transverse par
tition Of oak and ground glass, as in
an Office building. The bell-boy went
over and pressed the bell button beside
solid door which had no legend nor
numerals whatever upon its panel.
There was no immediate response.
"Where are you taking me?" Rhoda
asked, trying to hide her nervousness,
He seemed surprised at the ques-
ton. "Mr. Forster doesn't come down
to his office much" he said. Hes got
a regular house up on the roof of the
hotel. This little private elevator
takes you up to it. It'll be down in
minute"
"Heavens Rhoda exclaim I'd. Does
he own the hotel?"
"And how!' said the boy.
The door opened upon small pri-
vate elevator with big man in it. He
was dressed not in the hotel livery but
in a blue serge suit with double
breasted coat. Rhoda stared. Where
had she seen him before?
Miss White" the bell-boy said.
"It's all right" miss, the man said,
for she'd involuntarily backed away at
the sight of him. "Mr. Forster's ex-
pecting you."
Reluctantly, beginning now to
tremble little, she stepped into the
elevator, denouncing to herself as she
did so the impulse to exclaim that 1t
was all mistake, and to run. There
wasn't anywhere to run to, for one
thing. But she might have tried 1t
anyhow If she'd remembered two Sec
onds sooner who the man in blue serge
was. He was the man who'd come to
their studio last night pretending to