"
"Not with that note inviting him there," protested Hewitt, "and signed
by Earle herself."
"You don't know she signed it?" objected the senator.
"I know _her_," returned the detective. "I know she's no fool. It's her
place, and she wouldn't let them pull off any rough stuff there--not
against the D.A., anyway."
The D.A. was rereading the note.
"Might this be it?" he asked. "Suppose it's a trick to mix me up in a
scandal? You say the place is disreputable. Suppose they're planning to
compromise me just before election. They've tried it already several
times."
"You've still got the note," persisted Hewitt. "It proves _why_ you went
there. And the senator, too. He can testify. And we won't be a hundred
yards away. And," he added grudgingly, "you have Nolan."
Nolan was the spoiled child of "the office." He was the district
attorney's pet. Although still young, he had scored as a detective and
as a driver of racing-cars. As Wharton's chauffeur he now doubled the
parts.
"What Nolan testified wouldn't be any help," said Wharton. "They would
say it was just a story he invented to save me.
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