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As Murray listened he looked his admiration for the daring of thelittle woman opposite him at the table.

They drifted. …

It was the day of the threatened exposure. Curiously enough, Dodgefelt no nervousness. The understanding which he had reached or feltthat he had reached with Constance made him rather eager than,otherwise to have the whole affair over with at once.

Drummond had been shut up for some time in the office of Beverleywith Dumont, going over the report which the accountant had preparedand other matters–He had come in without seeing either Constance orMurray, though they knew he must be nursing his chagrin over theepisode of the night before.

“They are waiting to see you,” reported Constance to Dodge, half anhour later, after one of the office boys had been sent over as aformal messenger to their office.

“We are ready for them?” he asked, smiling at her.

Constance nodded.

“Then I shall go in. Wait a moment. When they have hurled theirworst at me I shall call on you. Have the stuff ready.”

There was no hesitation, no misgiving on the part of either, as hestrode into Beverley’s office. Constance had prepared the recordwhich they had been working on, and for days had been momentarilyexpecting this crisis. She felt that she was ready.

An ominous silence greeted Dodge as he entered.

“We have had experts on your books, Dodge,” began Beverley, clearinghis throat, as Murray seated himself, waiting for them to speakfirst.

“I have seen that,” he replied dryly.

“They are fifty thousand dollars short,” shot out Dumont.

“Indeed?”

Dumont gasped at the coolness of the man. “Wh–what? You havenothing to say? Why, sir,” he added, raising his voice, “you haveactually made no effort to conceal it!”

Dodge smiled cynically. “A consultation, will rectify it,” was allhe said. “A conference will show you that it is all right.”

“A consultation?” broke in Beverley in rage. “A consultation injail!”

Still Dodge merely smiled.

“Then you consider yourself trapped. You admit it,” ground outDumont.

“Anything you please,” repeated Dodge. “I am perfectly willing–“

“Let us end this farce–now,” cried Beverley hotly. “Drummond!”

The detective had been doing some rapid thinking. “Just a moment,”he interrupted. “Don’t be too precipitate. Hear his side, if he hasany. I can manage him. Besides, I have something else to say aboutanother person that will interest us all.”

“Then you are willing to have the consultation!”

Drummond nodded.

“Miss Dunlap,” called Murray, taking the words almost from thedetective’s lips, as he opened the door and held it for her toenter.

“No–no. Alone,” almost shouted Beverley.

The detective signaled to him and he subsided, muttering.

As she entered Drummond looked hard at her. Constance met himwithout wavering an instant.

“I think I’ve seen you before, Mrs. Dunlap,” insinuated thedetective.

“Perhaps,” replied Constance, still meeting his sharp ferret eyesquarely, which increased his animosity.

“Your husband was Carlton Dunlap, cashier of Green & Company, was henot?”

She bit her lip. The manner of his raking up of old scores, thoughshe had expected it, was cruel. It would have been cruel in court,if she had had a lawyer to protect her rights. It was doubly cruel,merciless, here. Before Dodge could interrupt, the detective added,”Who committed suicide after forging checks to meet his–“

Murray was at Drummond like a hound. “Another word from you and I’llthrottle you,” he blurted out.

“No, Murray, no. Don’t,” pleaded Constance. She was burning withindignation, but it was not by violence that she expected toprevail. “Let him say what he has to say.”

Drummond smiled. He had no scruples about a “third degree” of thiskind, and besides there were three of them to Dodge.

“You were–both of you–at Woodlake not long ago, were you not?” heasked calmly.

There was no escaping the implication of the tone. Still Drummondwas taking no chances of being misunderstood. “There was one man,”lie went on, “who embezzled for you. Here is another who hasembezzled. How will that look when it goes before a jury!” heconcluded.

The fight had shifted before it had well begun. Instead of beingbetween Dodge on one side and Beverley and Dumont on the, other, itnow seemed to be a clash between a cool detective and a cleverwoman.