"
For instance, he could have got from her face just then no
hint of the agony of fear torturing her--fear of the drop into
the underworld.
"Find Rod?" asked he.
"He wasn't on the stage. So--I came out again."
"Wait here," said Sperry. "I'll hunt him up."
"Oh, no--please don't. I stopped on impulse. I'll not bother
him." She smiled mischievously. "I might be interrupting."
Sperry promptly reddened. She had no difficulty in reading
what was in his mind--that her remark had reminded him of
Rod's "affair," and he was cursing himself for having been so
stupid as to forget it for the moment and put his partner in
danger of detection.
"I--I guess he's gone," stammered Sperry. "Lord, but that was
a knock you gave me! Better come to lunch with me."
Susan hesitated, a wistful, forlorn look in her eyes. "Do you
really want me?" asked she.
"Come right along," said Sperry in a tone that left no doubt
of his sincerity. "We'll go to the Knickerbocker and have
something good to eat."
"Oh, no--a quieter place," urged Susan.
Sperry laughed. "You mean less expensive. There's one of the
great big differences between you and the make-believe ladies
one bumps into in this part of town. _You_ don't like to be
troublesome or expensive. But we'll go to the Knickerbocker.
I feel 'way down today, and I intended to treat myself. You
don't look any too gay-hearted yourself.
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