n her part as to
whether she was or was not going with Cowperwood. She would not be able
to say after that what she would or would not do. Butler would lay down
the law to her. She would reform, or he would send her to a reformatory.
Think of her influence on her sister, or on any good girl--knowing what
she knew, or doing what she was doing! She would go to Europe after
this, or any place he chose to send her.

In working out his plan of action it was necessary for Butler to
take Alderson into his confidence and the detective made plain his
determination to safeguard Cowperwood's person.

"We couldn't allow you to strike any blows or do any violence," Alderson
told Butler, when they first talked about it. "It's against the rules.
You can go in there on a search-warrant, if we have to have one. I
can get that for you without anybody's knowing anything about your
connection with the case. We can say it's for a girl from New York. But
you'll have to go in in the presence of my men. They won't permit any
trouble. You can get your daughter all right--we'll bring her away, and
him, too, if you say so; but you'll have to make some charge against
him, if we do. Then there's the danger of the neighbors seeing. You
can't always guarantee you won't collect a crowd that way." Butler had
many misgivings about the matter. It was fraught with great danger of
publicity. Still he wanted to know. He wanted to terrify Aileen if he
could--to reform her drastically.

Within a week Alderson learned that Aileen and Cowperwood were visiting
an apparently private residence, which was anything but that. The house
on South Sixth Street was one of assignation purely; but in its way it
was superior to the average establishment of its kind--of red brick,
white-stone trimmings, four stories high, and all the rooms, some
eighteen in number, furnished in a showy but cleanly way. It's patronage
was highly exclusive, only those being admitted who were known to the
mistress, having been introduced by others. This guaranteed that privacy
which the illicit affairs of this world so greatly required. The mere
phrase, "I have an appointment," was sufficient, where either of
the parties was known, to cause them to be shown to a private suite.
Cowperwood had known of the place from previous experiences, and when
it became necessary to abandon the North Tenth Street house, he had
directed Aileen to meet him here.

The matter of entering a place of this kin