It was an excited Beiner that threw open the door when she knocked at
his office a moment later. The cigar stuck between his thick lips was
unlighted; his silk shirt, although it was cold outside, with a hint of
snow in the tangy atmosphere, and there was none too much heat in the
Heberworth Building, clung to his chest, and perspiration stained it.
"Come in," he said hoarsely. He stood aside, holding the handle of the
door. He closed it as Clancy entered, and she heard the click of the
latch.
She wheeled like a flash.
"Unlock it!" she commanded.
Beiner waved a fat hand carelessly.
"We got to talk business, kid. We don't want any interruption. You ain't
afraid of me, are you?"
Clancy's heaving breast slowed down. She was not afraid of Beiner; she
had never seen any one, man or woman, in her brief life, of whom she was
afraid. Further, to allay her alarm, Beiner sat down in his swivel
chair. She sat down herself, in a chair nearer the locked door.
"Quite a kidder, ain't you, Florine?" asked Beiner.
"I don't understand you," she replied.
He grinned, a touch of nervousness in the parting of the thick lips.
Then he closed them, rolling his wet cigar about in his mouth.
"Well, you will pretty soon," he said. "Anjenoo, eh? I gotta hand it to
you, Florine. You had _me_ fooled. Amachoor, eh? Played in 'The Rivals'
once?" He took the cigar from his mouth and shook it at her. "Naughty,
naughty, Florine, not to play fair with old papa Beiner!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
"Oh, no; of course not. Little Florine, fresh from Maine, doesn't know a
soul on Broadway. Of course not! She gets a letter from Fanny DeLisle to
old papa Beiner, and wants a job in the movies, bless her dear, sweet
heart! Only"--and his voice lost its mocking tones and became
reproachful--"was that the square way to treat her friend Morris?"
"I came here," said Clancy coldly, "to keep a business engagement, not
to answer puzzles. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Now, be nice; be nice," said the agent. "I ain't mad, Florine. Didn't
Fanny DeLisle tell you I was a good old scout?"
"She said that you were a very competent agent," said Clancy.
"Oh, did she, now?" Beiner sneered. "Well, wasn't that sweet of old
Fanny? She didn't happen to say that anybody that tried to trim old
Morris was liable to get their hair cut, did she?"
All fear had left Clancy now. She was exasperated.
"Why don't you talk plain English?" she demanded.
"Oh, you'd like it better that way, would you?" Beiner threw his cigar
upon the floor and ground his heel upon it. "'Plain English,' eh? All
right; you'll get it. Why did Ike Weber send you here?"
Clancy's breath sucked in audibly. Her face, that had been colored with
nervous indignation, whitened.
"'Ike Weber?'" she murmured.
Beiner laughed harshly.
"Now, nix on the rube stuff, Florine. I got your number, kid. Paul Zenda
just left my office. He wants to know where Weber is. He told me about
the jam last night. And he mentioned that there was a little girl at his
house that answered to the name of Florine. I got him to describe that
little girl."
"Did you tell him," gasped Clancy, "that I was coming here this
afternoon?"
"You understand me better, don't you?" sneered Beiner. "Oh, you and
me'll get along together fine, Florine, if you got the good sense you
look like you have. Did I tell Zenda that I knew you? Well, look me
over, Florine. Do I look like a guy that was just cuttin' his first
teeth? Of course I didn't tell him anything. I let him tell me. It's a
grand rule, Florine--let the other guy spill what's on _his_ chest.
'Course, there's exceptions to that rule, like just now. I'm spillin'
what I know to you, and willin' to wait for you to tell me what I want
to know. Suppose I put my cards right down where you can see 'em,
Florine?"
She could only stare at him dumbly. Zenda was a big man in the picture
industry. He'd been robbed and beaten. Last night, he'd seemed to her
the sort of man who, for all his dreaminess, would not easily forget a
friend or a foe. He was important enough to ruin Clancy's picture career
before it began.
Beiner took her silence for acquiescence.
"Zenda gets trimmed last night in a stud game. He's been gettin' trimmed
for a long time, but he ain't really wise to the scheme. But last night
his wife watches close. She gets hep to what Ike Weber is doin'. There's
a grand row, and Zenda gets slugged, and Weber takes a lickin', too. But
they ain't got any real evidence on Weber. Not enough to have him
pinched, anyway, even if Zenda decides to go that far. But Zenda wants
his money back." Beiner chuckled. "I don't blame him. A hundred thousand
is a wad of kale, even in these days. So he comes to me.
"Some time ago I had a little run-in with Ike Weber. I happen to know a
lot about Ike. For instance, that his brokerage business is a stall. He
ain't got any business that he couldn't close out in ten minutes. Well,
Ike and I have a little row. It don't matter what it's all about. But I
drop a hint to Paul Zenda that it wouldn't do any harm for him to be
careful who he plays stud with. Paul is mighty curious; but I don't tell
him any more than that. Why should I? There was nothing in it for me.
But Paul remembers last night what I'd told him--he'd been suspicious
for quite a while of Weber--and to-day he hot-foots it to me. So now,
you see, Florine, how you and me can do a little business."
"How?" asked Clancy.
"Oh, drop it!" snapped Beiner. "Quit the milk-maid stuff! You're a wise
little girl, or you wouldn't be trailin' round with Ike Weber.
Now--where's Ike? And why did Ike send you to me?"
Clancy shook her head vehemently.
"I don't know him. I never met him until last night. I don't know
anything at all about him."
Beiner stared at her. For many years, he had dealt with actresses. He
knew feigned indignation when he heard it. He believed Clancy. Still,
even though he believed, he wanted proof.
"How'd you meet him?" he asked.
Clancy told him about her arrival in New York, her meeting with Fay
Marston, and what had followed, even to Fay's late visit and her
statement that she was married to Weber and was leaving town.
"And that's every single thing I know about them," she said. Her voice
shook. The tears stood in her eyes. "I ran away because I was
frightened, and I'm going right to Mr. Zenda and explain to him."
For a moment, Beiner did not speak. He took a cigar from the open case
on his desk and lighted it. He rolled it round in his mouth until
one-half its stubby length was wet. Then, from the corner of his mouth,
he spoke.
"Why do that, kid? Why tell Zenda that Fay Marston practically confessed
to you?"
"So that Mr. Zenda won't think that--that I'm dishonest!" cried Clancy.
"Aw, fudge! Everybody's dishonest, more or less. And every one else
suspects them, even though they don't know anything against them. What
do you care what Zenda thinks?"
"What do I care?" Clancy was amazed.
"Sure. What do you care? Zenda can't do anything to you."
"He can keep me out of pictures, can't he?" cried Clancy.
Beiner shrugged.
"Oh, maybe for a week or two, a few people would be down on you,
but--what did you come to New York for, Florine, to make friends or
money?"
"What has that to do with it?" she asked.
Beiner leaned over toward her.
"A whole lot, Florine. I could 'a' told Zenda a whole lot about Ike
Weber to-day. I could 'a' told him a couple things that would 'a' put
Ike behind the bars. 'Smatter of fact, I could 'a' told him of a trick
that Ike done in Joliet. But what's the good? The good to me, I mean.
Ike knows that I put the flea in Zenda's ear that led to his wife
spottin' Ike's little game. If he's got sense, he knows it, for I saw
that my hint to Zenda reached Ike. Well, Ike will be reachin' round to
get hold of me. Why, I thought, when Zenda described you and mentioned
your first name, that Ike had sent you to me. Because Ike knows what I
could tell Zenda would be enough to give Zenda a hold on Ike that'd get
back that hundred thousand. But why be nasty? That's what I ask myself."
His face took on an expression of shrewd good humor, of benevolence,
almost. "You're just a chicken, Florine, a flapper from the mud roads
and the middle-of-the-day dinner. And a hick chicken don't have it any
too soft in New York at the best of it. I don't suppose that your
bank-roll would make a mosquito strain its larynx, eh? Well, Florine,
take a tip from old papa Beiner, that's been watchin' them come and
watchin' them go for twenty-five years along Broadway.
"Why, Florine, I've seen them come to this town all hopped up with
ambition and talent and everything, and where do they land? Look the
list over, kid. Where are your stars of twenty years ago, of ten years
ago, of five, when you come right down to it? Darned few of them here
to-day, eh? You know why? Well, I'll tell you. Because they weren't
wise, Florine.
"Lord, don't I know 'em! First or last, old papa Morris has got 'em
jobs. And I've heard their little tales. I know what pulled 'em back to
where they started from. It was because they didn't realize that friends
grow cold and enemies die, and that the only friend or enemy that
amounts to a darn is yourself.
"I've seen girls worry because somebody loved 'em; and I've seen 'em
worry because somebody didn't love 'em. And those girls, most of them,
are mindin' the baby to-day, with a husband clerkin' it down-town, too
poor to afford a nurse-girl. But the girls that look out for the kale,
that never asked, 'What?' but always, 'How much?'--those are the girls
that amount to something.
"Here's you--crazy to run right off to Paul Zenda and tell him that
you're a good little girl and don't know a darned thing about Ike Weber.
Well, suppose you do that. What happens? Zenda hears your little story,
decides you're tellin' the truth, and forgets all about you. Your bein'
a nice, honest little fool don't buy you no silk stockings, kid, and I'm
here to tell you so.
"Now, suppose you don't run to Zenda. Sooner or later, he runs into you.
He bawls you out. Because you've kept away from him, he suspects that
you stood in with Ike. Maybe he tries to get you blacklisted at a few
studios. _All_ right. Let's suppose he does. Six months from now,
Zenda's makin' a picture out on the Coast, or in Europe, maybe. A
director wants a girl of your type. I send him you. He remembers that
Zenda's got it in for you, but--Zenda's away. And he hires you. Take it
from me, Florine, he'll hire you. Get me?"
Her brows knitted, she had heard him through.
"I've heard you, but I don't understand. You talk about being sensible,
but--why _shouldn't_ I go to Mr. Zenda?"
"Because there's no money in it. And there's a bunch in not going to
him," said Beiner.
"Who's going to give it to me?" demanded Clancy.
"Weber."
"He's left town."
Beiner guffawed.
"Maybe that fat blonde of his thought so last night. She had a scare in
her all right. But Ike ain't a rube. He knows Zenda's got no proof.
He'll lie low for a few days, but--that's all. He'll pay you well--to
keep quiet."
"Pay me?" gasped Clancy.
"Surest thing! Same as he'll be round to see me in a day or so, to shut
my mouth. I know too much. Listen: By this time, Ike has pumped Fay
Marston. He knows that she, all excited, blew the game to you. My God,
what a sucker a man is to get married! And if he _must_ do it, why does
he marry a Broadway doll that can't keep her face closed? Oh, well, it
don't matter to us, does it, Florine? What matters is that Ike will be
slippin' you a nice big roll of money, and you should worry whether you
go to work to-day or to-morrow or next month. I'll be gettin' mine, all
right, too. So now you see, don't you?"
[Illustration]
Clancy rose slowly to her feet.
"Yes," she said deliberately; "I see. I see that you--why, you're no
better than a _thief_! Unlock that door and let me out!"
Beiner stared at her. His fat face reddened, and the veins stood out on
his forehead.
"So _that's_ the way you take it, eh? Now then, you little simp, you
listen to me!"
He put his cigar down upon the edge of his desk, an edge scarred by
countless cigars and cigarettes of the past. Heavily he rose. Clancy
backed toward the door.
"If you touch me," she cried, "I'll----"
She had not dreamed that one so fat could move so quickly. Beiner's arms
were round her before the scream that she was about to give could leave
her lips. A fat palm, oily, greasy with perspiration, was clapped across
her mouth.
"Now, don't be a little fool," he whispered harshly. "Why, Florine, I'm
givin' you wise advice. I've done nothin' to you. You don't want to go
to Zenda and tell him that Fay Marston admitted Ike was a crook, do you?
Because then the game will be blown, and Ike won't see his way to slip
me my share. You wouldn't be mean to old papa Beiner that wants to see
all little girls get along, would you? How about it, Florine?"
He drew her closer to him as he spoke. Clancy, staring into his eyes,
saw something new spring into being there. It was something that,
mercifully, she had been spared seeing ever before. Fear overwhelmed
her, made her limp in Beiner's clasp. The agent chuckled hoarsely.
"What a sweet kiddie you are, Florine! Say, I think you and me are goin'
to be swell little pals, Florine. How about giving old papa Beiner a
little kiss, just to show you didn't mean what you just said?"
Her limpness deceived him. His grasp loosened as he bent his thick neck
to bring his gross mouth nearer hers. Clancy's strength came back to
her. Her body tautened. Every ounce of strength that she possessed she
put into a desperate effort for freedom. She broke clear, and whisked
across the room.
"If you come near me, I'll scream," she said.
Beiner glared at her.
"All right," he said thickly. "Scream, you little devil! I'll give you
something to scream about!"
He leaped for her, but she knew now how fast he could move. Swiftly she
stepped to one side, and, as she did so, she seized a chair, the one on
which she had been sitting, and thrust it toward the man. The chair-leg
jammed between his knees and unbalanced him. His own momentum carried
him forward and to one side. He grasped at the edge of the desk for
support. But his hand slipped. Twisting, trying desperately to right
himself, he pitched forward. His head struck upon the iron radiator
beside his desk. He lay quite still.
For a moment, her mouth open, prepared to scream, Clancy stared down at
the man. As the seconds passed and Beiner failed to move, she became
alarmed. Then his huge chest lifted in a sigh. He was not killed, then.
She came near to him, and saw that a bruise, already swollen, marked
the top of his bald skull. She knew little of such injuries, but even
her amateur knowledge was sufficient to convince her that the man was
not seriously hurt. In a moment, he would revive. She knelt beside him.
She knew that he had put the door-key in his trousers pocket. She had
noticed the key-ring and chain. But her strength had deserted her. She
was trembling, almost physically ill. She could not turn the gross body
over.
She heard footsteps outside, heard some one knock on the door. Bent
over, trying not to breathe, lest she be heard outside, she stared at
the door. The person outside shook the knob, pounded on the door. Then
she heard a muttered exclamation, and footsteps sounded, retreating,
down the hall.
Beiner groaned; he moved. She straightened up, frightened. There had
been something in his eyes that appalled her. He would not be more
merciful when he recovered. She crossed the tiny office to the couch.
Outside the wide window was the fire-escape. It was her only way of
escape, and she took it.
She opened the window and stepped upon the couch. A sort of court,
hemmed in by office-buildings, faced her. She stepped through the window
upon the iron grating-like landing of the fire-escape. The sheer drop
beneath her feet alarmed her. She hesitated. Why hadn't she called to
whoever had knocked upon the door and got him to break it down? Why had
she been afraid of the possible scandal? Last night, she had fled from
Zenda's through fear of scandal, and her fear had brought her into
unpleasant complications. Now she had done the same thing, practically,
again.
But it was too late to worry. Beiner would revive any moment. She
descended the fire-escape. Luck was with her. On the next landing was a
window that opened, not into an office but into a hallway. And the latch
was unfastened. In a moment, Clancy had climbed through the window and
was ringing the elevator-bell. No one was in the hall. Her entrance
through the window was not challenged.
V
Clancy woke clear-brained. She knew exactly what she was to do. Last
night, after eating dinner in her room, she had tried to get Zenda on
the telephone. Not finding his number in the book, she had endeavored to
obtain it from "Information," only to learn that "it is a private wire,
and we can't tell it to you." So, disappointed, she went to bed.
Her resolution had not changed over-night. She'd made a little idiot of
herself in running away from the Zenda apartment night before last. But
now that she found herself involved in a mass of nasty intrigue, she
would do the sensible thing, tell the truth, and let the consequences be
what they might.
Consequences? She mustn't be absurd. Innocently she had become entangled
in something, but a few words would straighten the matter out. Of
course, she would incur the enmity of Ike Weber, but what difference did
that make? And Morris Beiner--she hoped, with a pardonable viciousness,
that his head would ache for a week. The nasty beast!
In the tub, she scrubbed herself harshly, as though to remove from
herself any possible lingering taint of contact with Beiner. A little
later, she descended to the Napoli dining-room and ordered breakfast. It
was as substantial as yesterday's. Exciting though yesterday had been,
Clancy had not yet reached the age where we pay for yesterday's
deviation from the normal with to-day's lack of appetite.
As at her previous breakfast, she had the dining-room to herself. Madame
Napoli waddled beamingly over to her and offered her a morning paper.
Clancy thanked her and put it aside until she should have finished her
omelet. But, finally, the keen edge of her appetite blunted, she picked
up the paper. It was a sheet devoted to matters theatrical, so that the
article which struck her eye was accorded greater space in this
newspaper than in any other in the city.
For a moment, Clancy's eyes were blurred as the import of the words of a
head-line sunk into her understanding. It was impossible for her to hold
the paper steadily enough to read. She gulped her second cup of coffee,
put a bill on the table, and, without waiting for her change, left the
room. Madame Napoli uttered some pleasant word, and Clancy managed to
stammer something in reply.
Up in her room, she locked the door and lay down upon the bed. Five
minutes, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, she stayed there. Then she
sat up and looked at the paper. She read: