whisper--

An hour and a half later he awoke, saw with dismay that it was seven
o'clock, and piled out of bed as guiltily as though an irate round-up
boss stood over him. The Thunder Bird to repair, a big business deal
to be accepted or rejected,--whichever his judgment advised and the
fates favored,--and he in bed at seven o'clock! He dressed hurriedly,
expecting to hear an impatient rapping on the door before he was ready
to face a critical business world. If he had time that day, he ought
to get himself some clothes. He would not want to eat again in that
place where Cliff Lowell took him, dressed as he was now.

He waited an impatient five minutes, went down to the lobby,--after
some trouble finding the elevator,--and found himself alone with the
onyx pillars and a few porters with brushes and things. A different
clerk glanced at him uninterestedly and assured him that no one had
called to see Mr. Jewel that morning. He left word that he would be
back in half an hour and went out to find breakfast. Luck took him
through the side entrance to Spring Street, where eating places were
fairly numerous. He discovered what he wanted, ate as fast as he could
swallow without choking on his ham and eggs or scalding his throat with
the coffee, and returned to the hotel.

No, there had been no call for Mr. Jewel. Johnny bought a morning
paper, but could find no mention of his arrival in Los Angeles. Cliff
Lowell, he decided, must be playing the secrecy to the limit. It did
not please him overmuch, in spite of his revilings of the press that
had made a joke of his troubles. Couldn't they do anything but go to
extremes, for gosh sake? Here he had made a record night,--he had
distinctly told that clerk the time he had made it in,--and Cliff
Lowell knew, too. Yet the paper was absolutely dumb. They ignored
everything he did that was worth notice, and yawped his private affairs
all over their front pages. That man Lowell was taking too much on
himself. Johnny hadn't agreed to take the job yet; he very much
doubted whether he would take it at all. He would rather be his own
boss and fly when he pleased and where he pleased. This flying over
into Mexico and back looked pretty fishy, come to think of it. If it
was against the law, how did Lowell expect to get away with it? If it
wasn't, why be so darned secret about it?

For three quarters of an hour, perhaps longer, Johnny dismissed the
thousand-dollar-a-week j