Boldly she returned
to Room 708 and opened the door. An office boy seated at a desk looked
up inquiringly.
"Is Mr. Fleck in?" she inquired timidly.
"Who wishes to see him?"
"Just say there's a lady wishes to speak to him," she faltered,
hesitating to give her name.
"Are you Miss Strong?" asked the boy abruptly, "because if you are, he's
expecting you."
She nodded, and the boy, jumping up, escorted her into an inner room. As
she entered nervously an alert-looking man, with graying hair and
mustache, rose courteously to greet her. In the quick glance she gave at
her surroundings she was conscious only of the great mahogany desk at
which he sat and behind it some filing cabinets and a huge safe, the
outer doors of which stood open.
"Sit down, won't you, Miss Strong," he said, placing a chair for her.
His manner and his cultured tone, everything about him, reassured her at
once. They conveyed to her that he was what she would have termed "a
gentleman," and with a little sigh of relief she seated herself.
"I'm afraid," said Mr. Fleck, smiling, "that Carter's method of
approaching you must have alarmed you."
"Carter--Oh, the black-mustached man."
"Yes, that describes him. You see, he did not wish to act definitely
without consulting his chief, yet the unexpected opportunity seemed far
too vital not to be utilized.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40