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went away. Sanders had already
gone, and Bent did not come through
the office on hi3 way from the fac
tory. As soon as Lorimer had gone Miss
Ferguson went to the. safe and un
locked it Swiftly sh,e abstracted a
certain set of blue papers and, re--turing
to . her desk, began jotting
down memoranda from them. She
puzzled over them for 15 minutes.
At the end of that time there was a
telephone ring.
The telephone operator had gone
home, leaving the switch connected
with the office. Miss Ferguson took
down the receiver.
"That you, dad?" she called. "Yes,
I have them for sure. The flue at
tachment I'm just copying the data.
No, there isn't much of a secret
about it It's just what you expected
it would be. Tell E. I'll have the pa
pers to him by the first post my
copy, of course."
Somebqdy chuckled behind her.
Miss Ferguson turned, to find herself
looking into Lorimer's face.
"So it was you, just as I suspect
ed," said Lorimer, chuckling aga$i.
The secretary sprang to her feet
in panic "Touch me if you dare!"
she screamed.
"I have no intention of touching
you, Miss Ferguson," said Lorimer.
"My remarks of this morning were
simply to put you into an uneasy
frame of mind. I have suspected
you for a good many months."
"Well, you've caught me with the
goods," she answered defiantly.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," said Lorimer.
"Why did you do it? I'm paying you
$50 a week. Howlnuch does Ells
worth pay?"
"Fifty!" snapped Miss Ferguson.
"And I'm to get a hundred as soon as
you find out and discharge me."
"Ellsworth won't pay you a pen
ny, said Lorimer. "ie isn't white.
What did you do it for?"
"You call yourself white?" de-
"manded the girL "Well say! How J
T about your treatment of Mr. Adams?
You owe him about $200,000."
"Simply business," returned Lori-,
4meri "Adams was an impracticable
man. He couldn't have used a pen
ny more than he was getting. As a
matter of fact, he struck for $40, the
fool, and that was what raised my
anger. If he'd asked a hundred I'd
have given it Say, come, now. what
did you do it for? Just fifty from
Ellsworth?" :
The woman thrust her jaw for-'
ward. "I'll tell you," she said. "You
ruined my father's life, you kept his
nose to the grindstone, you drov4
him into the grave through lack of
the recognition which ought to have
been his. My name 'isn't Ferguson
at all it's Adams". I'm Mr. Adams'
daughter, see? And when he died in
poverty I vowed to get some of that
money back. Did I do it? Eh? Did
I do it?" '
"Well come-to that later," said
Lorimer. "Now that I've- found the
leak, of course I shall have to stop it
You, won't expect to stay?"
"Well, I should say not!"
"But I'll give you a hundred a week
to get that job with Ellsworth and
find out what you can for me."
"What? Do you. take me for thai
sort of woman? I haven't a thing
against Mn Ellsworth." ,
"All right," said Lorimer soothing
ly. "But if he doesn't live up to the
terms of, this bargain?"
"Then you can count-on me," said
the secretary fiercely.- "But not untjl
then. Good afternoon, Mr. Lorimer,
and don't forget your treatment of
Adams has cost you a few thousand
, dollars more han if you'd been; a
white man."
When she was gone Lorimer sat
down at the telephone in turn. "Give
me 3427," he told the operator at
central. x-
"Hello! Is that you, Ellsworth?
Say, that woman spy thet I gave
those fake papers to about the flue
well, I've got tired of her. I'm send
ing her to you." ,
