The Moving Picture Girls Part 31

She had recognized the man, and was fearful lest he know her.

For he was the fellow with whom Russ had been in dispute in the hallway that day, when the DeVeres' door had flown open.

"Simp Wolley!" whispered Alice, in tense tones to Ruth. "It's that man who was after Russ's patent."

"Then don't let him see you."

"I won't--no danger. They're going out now. Come on!"

"Where?" asked Ruth, as Alice reached for her gloves.

"We must go to warn Russ."

"But we haven't eaten what we ordered," objected Ruth, pointing to the food, hardly touched, on the table.

"No matter, we can pay for it."

"But the cas.h.i.+er will think it so odd."

"What do we care. It's our food--we'll pay for it, and we can do what we like with it then. We can eat it or not."

"But they'll think it so queer. They may think we have some prejudice against it, and----"

Ruth was a stickler for the established order of things. Alice was more in the habit of taking "cross-cuts."

"Don't be silly!" exclaimed the younger girl. "We've just got to get out of here and warn Russ before those men have a chance to take his patent. You heard what they said about doing it to-night!"

"Well, I suppose we must," a.s.sented Ruth, with a sigh. "But it seems a shame to waste all that good food."

"It won't be wasted. We can tell them to give it to some poor person."

"Oh, Alice! You are so--so queer."

"I'd be worse than queer if I sat here and ate while Russ was being robbed of his patent. I should think you'd want to help him. I thought you and he----"

"Alice!" warned Ruth, with a sudden a.s.sumption of dignity. But she blushed prettily.

"Oh, you know what I mean. Come on. Don't sit there talking any longer, and raising objections. We've got to hurry."

"Yes, I suppose so. Oh, Alice, I hope nothing happens!"

"So do I."

"I mean to us."

"And I mean to Russ. A distinction without a difference."

The two girls drew on their gloves and left the restaurant. As Ruth had expected, the cas.h.i.+er at the desk looked at them curiously as they paid for the meal they had not eaten. But Alice forestalled any open criticism by saying:

"We find we have to leave sooner than we expected. If you like, give our meal to some poor person. We haven't had time to touch it."

"Oh, all right," answered the young girl at the desk. "We often give what is left over to charity, and I'm sure the food on your table won't come amiss. If you like I'll speak to the manager, and see if he'll give you a rebate----"

"No, we haven't time for that--too much of a hurry," answered Alice.

"Come along, Ruth."

They hurried outside, and Alice glanced quickly up and down the street for a glimpse of the two men. They were not in sight.

"I wish we were rich!" suddenly exclaimed Alice, as she took her sister's arm, and hurried in the direction of the elevated that would take them home.

"Why?" asked Ruth.

"Because then we could afford to take a taxicab. We ought to warn Russ as soon as possible. How much money have you, Ruth?"

"Not enough for a taxicab, I'm afraid." She hastily counted it over.

Alice did the same.

"No," decided the younger girl, with a sigh. "I guess we'd better not. At least--not yet. We may have to--later."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruth.

"I mean we can't tell what will happen before we are able to tell Russ. He's hardly likely to be at home now, and we may have to search for him."

"But we can go home and tell his mother and Billy. One of them could find him, and warn him. Billy knows New York even better than we do."

"Yes, I suppose so. Well, we'll go to the apartment and see what happens there."

But at the Fenmore the girls had their first disappointment, for none of the Dalwoods was at home. Nor did any of the neighbors know where they had gone. For persons in New York, even in the same apartment house, are not very likely to become acquainted with one another, and often families may live in adjoining flats for a long time, without pa.s.sing beyond the bowing stage. As for keeping track of the comings and goings of their neighbors, it is never thought of, unless something out of the ordinary occurs.

Echoes only answered the knocking of Ruth and Alice, and the two girls faced each other in the hallway with anxious looks on their faces.

"What shall we do?" asked Ruth. "None of them is home. How can we warn Russ?"

"I don't know. I've got to think!" exclaimed Alice. "Come in our place and let's sit down a minute. We can make a cup of tea. I was so hungry, and to leave that nice little meal--well, we just had to do it, that's all."

Tea was soon in process of making, and while the girls set out some cakes and a jar of jam for a hasty meal they did some rapid thinking.

"Did you ever hear Russ say where it was he was having his patent attachment made?" asked Alice.

"I never did," confessed Ruth. "He said it was somewhere on the East Side, but that's very indefinite."

"Then the only thing to do is to find Russ and tell him," decided Alice, as she removed, with the tip of her tongue, a spot of jam from a forefinger. "We've just got to find him.

"Now I'll tell you what we'll do, Ruth. You stay here and as soon as Mrs. Dalwood, or Billy, or perhaps even Russ comes home, you tell them all about this plot."

"But what will you do?"

"I'll go find Russ."