jilt Bob for John, she certainly put me in a spot.
"I suppose Bob decided he wanted to show Pat she wasn't the only girl in the world, and he wanted to humiliate her, so he ran off with her mother. Sure puts me in a hell of a spot! But I can't imagine Lola doing anything like that."
Mason merely nodded.
"Hang it all!" Allred went on irritably, "even if Lola didn't give a damn about me, if she wanted to do everything she could to hurt me or to make me ridiculous, you still can't imagine her pulling a trick like that."
"Did she do what she did solely to hurt you, or make you ridiculous?" Mason asked.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?"
Mason remained silent "I suppose the only explanation is that Lola had been secretly in love with him for some time. She probably felt that Pat didn't really love him. I suppose she was afraid to tell me she wanted a divorce and wait for the thing to be handled in a decent way, bemuse if she had, Bob would probably have wriggled off her hook. After all, no matter how young looking and attractive a woman is, when she ties up with a man who's fifteen years younger than she is-- well, it's only a question of time, Mason. It's only a question of time."
"Exactly what do you want me to do?" Maser asked. "Make comments on your domestic entanglements, or give you information."
"As a matter of fact, I wanted information, Mason."
"So I gathered."
"But only as a preliminary to something else."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"I wanted to find out if you were representing my wife. I want a definite answer on that."
"I can't give it to you."
"If you are representing her, I want to establish communication with her."
"She'll get in touch with you, if she wants to, I suppose," Mason said.
"Dammit, it isn't what she wants. It's what Iwant."
"Yes?"
"Yes! I want to get Bob Fleetwood."
"And Fleetwood," Mason said, "knowing something of the risks one naturally runs in encountering an irate husband, is equally anxious to keep out of your way."
"That's just the point," Allred said earnestly. "He doesn't need to be afraid of me."
"Perhaps it's not fear. Perhaps just prudence."
"Well, whatever it is, I want him to get in touch with me."
"A desire on your part which he may decide to ignore."
"Look here," Allred said, "I'm going to put some more cards on the table."
"Go right ahead."
"Do you know anything about my business, Mason?"
"I know generally you're in the mining business."
"The mining business," Allred went on, "is the greatest gamble in the world. You buy a prospect. It looks good. You pour money into development work. You think it's going to' make you a million dollars. It turns out to be a lemon. You have sunk more money than you can afford. Naturally there's a great temptation to try and unload that, and get at least part of your money out."
Mason nodded.
"On the other hand, you get some little hole in the ground and start scratching around, deciding you're not going to spend very much money on it, and the first thing you know, you've blundered into a lot of rich ore. Do you know George Jerome?"
Mason shook his head.
"He's my partner in quite a few mining deals. Nice chap, has a lot of technical knowledge. A pretty hard man to fool, George Jerome."
"And how does George Jerome enter into the picture?"
"We owned the White Horse Mine. We traded it to Dixon Keith for a mine he owned and a little cash. It was a pretty good trade. What I'd call an even swap."
Mason glanced at his wrist watch.
"I'm only to take up a minute. Only a minute. It all ties in to this problem about my wife," Allred said. "Keith traded properties with his eyes open. He thought he was handing us a lemon. I happened to know that he thought his property wasn't worth a thin dime. That's where we fooled him, thanks very largely to my partner's technical knowledge.
"Well, anyway, the mine we got from Dixon Keith proved to be valuable. The fact is, the vein was pinching out. Keith thought he'd better unload the
"I suppose Bob decided he wanted to show Pat she wasn't the only girl in the world, and he wanted to humiliate her, so he ran off with her mother. Sure puts me in a hell of a spot! But I can't imagine Lola doing anything like that."
Mason merely nodded.
"Hang it all!" Allred went on irritably, "even if Lola didn't give a damn about me, if she wanted to do everything she could to hurt me or to make me ridiculous, you still can't imagine her pulling a trick like that."
"Did she do what she did solely to hurt you, or make you ridiculous?" Mason asked.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?"
Mason remained silent "I suppose the only explanation is that Lola had been secretly in love with him for some time. She probably felt that Pat didn't really love him. I suppose she was afraid to tell me she wanted a divorce and wait for the thing to be handled in a decent way, bemuse if she had, Bob would probably have wriggled off her hook. After all, no matter how young looking and attractive a woman is, when she ties up with a man who's fifteen years younger than she is-- well, it's only a question of time, Mason. It's only a question of time."
"Exactly what do you want me to do?" Maser asked. "Make comments on your domestic entanglements, or give you information."
"As a matter of fact, I wanted information, Mason."
"So I gathered."
"But only as a preliminary to something else."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"I wanted to find out if you were representing my wife. I want a definite answer on that."
"I can't give it to you."
"If you are representing her, I want to establish communication with her."
"She'll get in touch with you, if she wants to, I suppose," Mason said.
"Dammit, it isn't what she wants. It's what Iwant."
"Yes?"
"Yes! I want to get Bob Fleetwood."
"And Fleetwood," Mason said, "knowing something of the risks one naturally runs in encountering an irate husband, is equally anxious to keep out of your way."
"That's just the point," Allred said earnestly. "He doesn't need to be afraid of me."
"Perhaps it's not fear. Perhaps just prudence."
"Well, whatever it is, I want him to get in touch with me."
"A desire on your part which he may decide to ignore."
"Look here," Allred said, "I'm going to put some more cards on the table."
"Go right ahead."
"Do you know anything about my business, Mason?"
"I know generally you're in the mining business."
"The mining business," Allred went on, "is the greatest gamble in the world. You buy a prospect. It looks good. You pour money into development work. You think it's going to' make you a million dollars. It turns out to be a lemon. You have sunk more money than you can afford. Naturally there's a great temptation to try and unload that, and get at least part of your money out."
Mason nodded.
"On the other hand, you get some little hole in the ground and start scratching around, deciding you're not going to spend very much money on it, and the first thing you know, you've blundered into a lot of rich ore. Do you know George Jerome?"
Mason shook his head.
"He's my partner in quite a few mining deals. Nice chap, has a lot of technical knowledge. A pretty hard man to fool, George Jerome."
"And how does George Jerome enter into the picture?"
"We owned the White Horse Mine. We traded it to Dixon Keith for a mine he owned and a little cash. It was a pretty good trade. What I'd call an even swap."
Mason glanced at his wrist watch.
"I'm only to take up a minute. Only a minute. It all ties in to this problem about my wife," Allred said. "Keith traded properties with his eyes open. He thought he was handing us a lemon. I happened to know that he thought his property wasn't worth a thin dime. That's where we fooled him, thanks very largely to my partner's technical knowledge.
"Well, anyway, the mine we got from Dixon Keith proved to be valuable. The fact is, the vein was pinching out. Keith thought he'd better unload the
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