giving Polly's address he climbed back.

"Shall we hide the bonds?" whispered Polly as she prepared to alight at
the Parsons home.

"Certainly not," replied Johnny. "I have to get them signed," and he
pressed the hand of Constance with proper warmth as he helped her out.

Gresham made an attempt at that point to prove himself a man, but
Loring restrained him from that absurd idea with one hand while he
raised his hat with the other.

"Where next?" asked the driver huskily.

"The finest place for a kidnapping is Forty-second and Broadway,"
answered Johnny with his mind made up.

"I'll take you all the way," almost begged the chauffeur. "You're the
only sport that ever handed me enough for a night ride, and I'd like to
hand you good service."

"I don't know who else pays you," laughed Johnny, and his chauffeur,
with a mighty respect for his fare, drove to Forty-second and Broadway,
where Johnny paid him.

They walked to Johnny's apartments, and on their arrival Johnny
produced the bonds, spreading them out on his table.

"About the first thing is to sign these," he suggested to Gresham.

That abused young man, who had been in the constant expectation of
hearing himself yell for the police, but had been as constantly
disappointed, had walked along like a gentleman; now, at last, he found
his voice.

"This is an outrage!" he exclaimed.

"I know it," agreed Johnny. "It's even high-handed. Here's a
fountain-pen."

"I refuse," maintained Gresham. "Why should I assign my own personal
property to you?"

"Because your personal property is mine," Johnny informed him. "I don't
owe you any explanation, Gresham, but I'll make one. You helped
Birchard forge his power of attorney from the Wobbles brothers, and you
were with him in taxi 23406 when he collected my million from the First
National. You were seen again that night with Birchard on the Boston
Post Road, and from then on Birchard dropped off the earth; but you
didn't. You got Jacobs to buy you these bonds, and Jacobs is a piker.
He confessed and begged for mercy. You're through."

Gresham held doggedly to the thought that never, under any
circumstances, must he admit a criminal action; for such a thing was so
far beneath him.

"I deny everything that you have said," he declared.

Johnny had a sudden frantic picture of this man touching the hand of
Constance, and he leaned across the table until his face was quite
close to Gresham's. The muscles in his ja