The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-02-13
CHAPTER iii
Flat Burglary


as he went to bed that night that he'd
had his lesson. @Rhoda had treated
him not as friend but as reporter
trying to run down story. 1t must
be pretty good story II she was so
afraid he'd get it. All right, by golly,
he'd be reporter, and the first thing
tomorrow morning he'd go after that
story and nail it down.
That maneuver he'd been SO proud
of at the time-getting rid Of Babe
Jennings and Max Lewis by intro
ducing them to each other-appeared
now as likely to have been down.
right idiotic blunder. Babe and Rhoda
might inhabit very different spiritual
worlds, but wasn't it likely that If
Babe knew her well enough to call her
Red and get away with it, she'd also
know the crude material facts about
worked, and so on-which were all
that Max Lewis was interested in!
And wouldn't Babe spill anything she
knew to anybody who was interested
in finding it out? Why the devil hadn't
he thought of that last night?
Well, it was probably too late to re-
pair the error now. He'd got to get
hold of Babe, though, at the earliest
possible moment. The more he thought
about the possibilities Of his blunder
the worse they seemed.
Next morning he dressed, bolted his
breakfast and was waiting at the foot
of the elevated stairs a good quarter
of an hour before Babe could be ex-
pected to appear.
By the time he'd finished his second
cigarette he felt as if he'd been stand
ing there for hours, as if everybody
that came along wondered what he
was doing there. And then, so sur
prisingly that he had to blink and
shake his head to make sure that his
Imagination wasn't deceiving him, he
saw not Babe, but Rhoda herself COM
ing down the stairs. What would she
do when she saw him? Toss her head
and walk scornfully by without speak
ing at all? Or pause to make some
other blighting aspersion on his good
faith in having tried to help her.
She didn't do either of those things
Her face lighted up at the sight
of him, and when she came within
reach she held out her hand.
"This is an awfully nice way for the
day to begin," she said. I'm sorry
/ called you reporter last night"
"I am one" he told her
"Oh, know you are, but you weren't
being one last night. don't know
why I said that. I suppose because I
have red hair"
"This is turning out much better
day than I thought it could" he OBJ
served. IT wish I'd known last night
that this was going to happen. How
did it happen? Do you often come
down these stairs about this timel
Have you got job near here?"
1.-THE doors about fifty feet away"
she told him. "Ive worked for the
News for two years."
Look here" he demanded, when
he'd digested this fact, "did you know
who I was all along-last night, !
mean?"
st thought it might be you. I wasn't
sure, though, till Babe called you
Marty"
"Honest?"
Honest"
She answered him quite simply, not
seeming surprised at his pressing so
minute a point. He didn't quite know
himself why it was so important. but
1t was.
"Well," he said. "we've got lot of
lost time to make up for. If I'll agree
not to talk about anything you don't
want to talk about, will you have din
ner with me tonight?"
"Yes," she said, "but I'll tell you
what I'd rather do If you'd just as
leave. I'd rather you came to supper
at the studio. Give me a pencil and
piece of your newspaper. and I'll write |
down the address"
He'd have asked her what sort of
studio it was If she hadn't glanced up |
as she handed back his paper and |
pencil and exclaimed. There comes
Babe! It must be getting late"