e taxi, he would have called
footless and foolhardy an hour before, and at any other hour his
judgment might have restrained him. But just now he seemed controlled
by a force greater than smooth-running judgment--a composite of many
forces: by sudden jealousy, by a sudden desire to shield Maggie, by a
sudden desire to see her. So as he stepped into the taxi, he said:

"The Grantham--quick!"

CHAPTER XVII

The taxi went rocking up Fourth Avenue. But now that decision was made
and he was headed toward Maggie, a little of judgment reasserted itself.
It would not be safe for him to walk openly into the Grantham with a
mouthful of questions. He did not know the number of Maggie's suite. And
Maggie might not be in. So he revised his plan slightly. He called to
his driver:

"Go to the Claridge first."

Five minutes later the taxi was in Forty-Fourth Street and Larry
was stepping out. Fortune favored him in one fact--or perhaps his
subconscious mind had based his plan upon this fact: the time was
half-past ten, the theaters still held their crowds, the streets were
empty, the restaurants were practically unoccupied. He was incurring the
minimum of risk.

"Wait for me," he ordered the driver. "I'll be out in five minutes."

In less than the half of the first of these minutes Larry had attained
his first objective: the secluded telephone-room down behind the grill.
It was unoccupied except for the telephone girl who was gazing raptly at
the sorrowful, romantic, and very soiled pages of "St. Elmo." The next
moment she was gazing at something else--a five-dollar bill which Larry
had slipped into the open book.

"That's to pay for a telephone call; just keep the change," he said
rapidly. "You're to do all the talking, and say just what I tell you."

"I got you, general," said the girl, emerging with alacrity from romance
to reality. "Shoot."

"Call up the Hotel Grantham--say you're a florist with an order to
deliver some flowers direct to Miss Margaret Cameron--and ask for the
number of her suite--and keep the wire open."

The girl obeyed promptly. In less than a minute she was reporting to
Larry:

"They say 1141-1142-1143."

"Ask if she's in. If she is, get her on the 'phone, tell her long
distance is calling, but doesn't want to speak to her unless she is
alone. You get it?"

"Sure, brother. This ain't the first time I helped a party out."

There was more jabbing with the switch-board plug, evident swit