happened
I did not know, but it was evident that a change had taken place.
Unobtrusively Bernice Bentley seemed to catch the roving eye of Du Mond
while he was dancing and direct it toward the little table. I saw his
face flush suddenly and a moment later he managed to work Gloria about
to the opposite side of the dancing floor and, though the music had not
stopped, on some pretext or other to join the party in the corner again.

Gloria did not want to stop dancing, but it seemed as if Du Mond
exercised some sort of influence over her, for she did just as he
wished. Was she really afraid of him? Who was the little woman who had
been like a skeleton at a feast?

Almost before we knew it, it seemed that the little party had tired of
the Cabaret Rouge. Of course we could hear nothing, but it seemed as if
Du Mond were proposing something and had carried his point. At any rate
the waiter was sent on a mysterious excursion and the party made as
though they were preparing to leave.

Little had been said by either Franconi or ourselves, but it was by a
sort of instinct that we, too, paid our check and moved down to the coat
room ahead of them. In an angle we waited, until Gloria and her party
appeared. Du Mond was not with them. We looked out of the door. Before
the cabaret stood a smart hired limousine which was evidently Gloria's.
She would not have dared use her own motor on such an excursion.

They drove off without seeing us and a moment later Du Mond and Bernice
Bentley appeared.

"Thank you for the tip," I heard him whisper. "I thought the best thing
was to get them away without me. I'll catch them in a taxi later.
You're off at seven? Ritter will call for you? Then we'll wait and all
go out together. It's safer out there."

Just what it all meant I could not say, but it interested me to know
that young Ritter Smith and Bernice Bentley seemed on such good terms.
Evidently the gay party were transferring the scene of their gayety to
the country place of the Cabaret Rouge. But why?

We parted at the door with Franconi, who repeated his invitation to
visit his shop down at the beach.

I started to follow Franconi out, but Kennedy drew me back. "Why did you
suppose I let them go?" he explained under his breath, as we retreated
to the angle again. "I wanted to watch that little woman who came in
alone."

We had not long to wait. Scarcely had Du Mond disappeared when she came
out and stood in the entrance while a bo