The Greatest Works of Earl Derr Biggers (Illustrated Edition). Earl Derr Biggers

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СКАЧАТЬ it's any good," the Captain added. The girl looked appealingly at Trant.

      "You are on leave of absence from the Honolulu force, Sergeant?" inquired the district attorney.

      "One which stretches out like an elastic," nodded Chan.

      "Very well. Since Miss Morrow wishes it, I see no reason why you shouldn't lend her your no doubt very useful aid. Remembering, of course, that neither one of you is to interfere with Captain Flannery in any way."

      "Better say that again," Flannery told him. He turned to Chan. "That means you're not to butt in and spoil things."

      Chan shrugged. "It was the wise K'ung-fu-tsze who said, 'he who is out of office should not meddle with the government.' The labor is all yours. I will merely haunt the background, thinking tensely."

      "That suits me," Flannery agreed. "I'll make all the inquiries." He turned to the district attorney. "I'm going to get after that Garland woman right away. The pearl she dropped under Sir Frederic's desk—I want to know all about it."

      "Please don't think I'm interfering," Miss Morrow said sweetly. "But as regards the women involved in this case, I feel that perhaps I can get more out of them than you can. Being a woman myself, you know. Will you let me have Miss Garland, please?"

      "I can't see it," said Flannery stubbornly.

      "I can," remarked Trant, decisively. "Miss Morrow is a clever girl, Captain. Leave the women to her. You take the men."

      "What men?" protested Flannery. "It's all women, in this affair."

      "Thank you so much," smiled Miss Morrow, assuming his unproffered consent. "I will look up Miss Garland, then. There's another woman who must be questioned at once—a Miss Lila Barr. I shall have a talk with her at the first possible moment. Of course, I'll keep you advised of all I do."

      Flannery threw up his hands. "All right—tell me about it—after it's over. I'm nobody."

      "Quite incorrect," said Chan soothingly. "You are everybody. When the moment of triumph comes, who will snatch all credit? And rightly so. Captain Flannery, in charge of the case. Others will fade like fog in local sun."

      The girl stood up. "We must go along. I'll be in to see you later, Captain. Come, Sergeant Chan—"

      Chan rose. He seemed a bit uncomfortable. "The Captain must pardon me. I fear I afflict him like sore thumb. Natural, too. I would feel the same."

      "That's all right," returned Flannery. "You're going to stick in the background, thinking tensely. You've promised. Think all you like—I can't stop that." His face brightened. "Think about that Cosmopolitan Club book. I'll turn the heavy thinking on that over to you. Me, I'll be busy elsewhere. One thing I insist on—you're not to question any of these people under suspicion."

      Chan bowed. "I am disciple of famous philosopher, Captain," he remarked. "Old man in China who said, 'The fool questions others, the wise man questions himself.' We shall meet again. Good-by." He followed the girl out.

      Flannery, his face brick red, turned to the district attorney. "Fine business," he cried. "The toughest case I ever had, and what sort of help do I draw? A doll-faced girl and a Chinaman! Bah—I—I—" He trailed off into profanity.

      Trant was smiling. "Who knows?" he replied. "You may get more help from them than you expect."

      "If I get any at all, I'll be surprised." Flannery stood up. "A woman and a Chinaman. Hell, I'll be the joke of the force."

      The two whom Captain Flannery was disparaging found Barry Kirk waiting impatiently in his car. "An inner craving," he announced, "tells me it's lunch time. You're both lunching with me at the bungalow. Step lively, please."

      Atop the Kirk Building, Paradise was ordered to lay two more places, and Kirk showed Chan to his room. He left the detective there to unpack, and returned to Miss Morrow.

      "You seem the perpetual host," she smiled, as he joined her.

      "Oh, I'm going to get a lot of fun out of Charlie," he answered. "He's a good scout, and I like him. But, by way of confession, I had other reasons for inviting him here. You and he are going to work together, and that means—what?"

      "It means, I hope, that I'm going to learn a lot."

      "From associating with Chan?"

      "Precisely."

      "And if you associate with my guest, you'll be bound to stumble over me occasionally. I'm a wise lad. I saw it coming."

      "I don't understand. Why should you want me to stumble over you?"

      "Because every time you do I'll leap up and look at you, and that will be another red-letter day in my life."

      She shook her head. "I'm afraid you're terribly frivolous. If I see much of you, you'll drag me down and down until I lose my job."

      "Look on the other side, lady," he pleaded. "You might drag me up and up. It could be done, you know."

      "I doubt it," she told him.

      Chan came into the room, and Paradise, unperturbed by the impromptu guests, served a noble luncheon. Toward its close, Kirk spoke seriously.

      "I've been thinking about this Barr girl downstairs," he said. "I don't know that I've told you the circumstances under which Sir Frederic came to stay with me. His son happens to be an acquaintance of mine—not a friend, I know him only slightly—and he wrote me his father was to be in San Francisco. I called on Sir Frederic at his hotel. From the start he appeared keenly interested in the Kirk Building. I couldn't quite figure it out. He asked me a lot of questions, and when he learned that I lived on the roof, I must say he practically invited himself to stop with me. Not that I wasn't delighted to have him, you understand—but somehow there was an undercurrent in the talk—well, I just sensed his eagerness. It was odd, wasn't it?"

      "Very," said the girl.

      "Well, after he'd been here a couple of days he began to ask questions about the Calcutta Importers, and finally these all seemed to center on Miss Lila Barr. I knew nothing about the firm or about Miss Barr—I'd never even heard of her. Later he found that my secretary, Kinsey, knew the girl, and the questions were all turned in that direction—though I fancied they grew more discreet. One day in the office I heard Kinsey ask Sir Frederic if he'd like to meet Miss Barr, and I also heard Sir Frederic's answer."

      "What did he say?" Miss Morrow inquired.

      "He said simply, 'Later, perhaps,' with what I thought an assumed carelessness. I don't know whether all this is important or not?"

      "In view of the fact that Miss Lila Barr once left Sir Frederic's presence in tears, I should say it is very important," Miss Morrow returned. "Don't you agree, Mr. Chan?"

      Chan nodded. "Miss Barr has fiercely interesting sound," he agreed. "I long with deep fervor to hear you question her."

      The girl rose from the table. "I'll call the office of the Calcutta Importers and ask her to step up here," she announced, and went to the telephone.

      Five minutes later Miss Lila Barr entered the living-room under the impeccable chaperonage of Paradise. She stood for a second regarding the three СКАЧАТЬ