Five Thousand an Hour: How Johnny Gamble Won the Heiress

by George Randolph Chester

  CHAPTER XXI

  IN WHICH CONSTANCE AVAILS HERSELF OF WOMAN'S PRIVILEGE TO CHANGE HERMIND

  Polly Parsons burst into the boudoir of Constance Joy, every feather onher lavender hat aquiver with indignation. "What do you think!" shedemanded. "Johnny Gamble's lost his million dollars!"

  Constance, nursing a pale-faced headache, had been reclining on thecouch at the side of a bouquet of roses four feet across; but now shesat straight up and smiled, and the sparkle which had been absent fordays came back into her eyes.

  "No!" she exclaimed. "Really, has he?"

  Polly regarded her in amazement. "You act as if you are glad of it,"she said.

  "I am," confessed Constance, and breaking off one of the big red rosesshe rose, surveyed herself in the glass, tried the effect of it againsther dark hair and finally pinned it on her dressing-gown.

  Polly plumped into a big rocking-chair to vent her indignation.

  "I don't see anything to giggle at!" she declared. "Johnny Gamble's afriend of mine. I'm going home."

  "Don't, Polly," laughed Constance. "Why, this is one of Johnny'sroses;" and she gave it an extra touch--really a quite affectionate one.

  "I'm all mussed up in my mind," complained Polly in a maze ofperplexity. "Johnny Gamble made a million dollars so he could ask youto throw away your million and marry him, and you were so tickled withthe idea that you kept score for him."

  Constance smiled irritatingly.

  "I kept score because it was fun. He never told me why he wanted themoney."

  "You may look like an innocent kid, but you knew that much," accusedPolly.

  Constance flushed, but she sat down by Polly to laugh.

  "To tell you the truth, Polly, I did suspect it," she admitted.

  "Yes, and you liked it," asserted Polly.

  Constance flushed a little more deeply.

  "It was flattering," she acknowledged, "but really, Polly, it broughtme into a most humiliating position. At the Courtneys' house-party Ioverheard Mr. Courtney tell his wife that Mr. Gamble was making amillion dollars in order to marry me; and Johnny was with me at thetime!"

  The hint of a twinkle appeared in Polly's indignant eyes as she beganto comprehend the true state of affairs.

  "Suppose he did?" she demanded. "Everybody knew it."

  Constance immediately took possession of the indignation and made ither own.

  "They had no business to know it!"

  Polly smiled.

  "Every place I went that day I heard the same thing," continuedConstance much aggrieved--"Johnny Gamble's million, and me, andGresham, and the million dollars I would have to forfeit if I didn'tmarry Paul. It was million, million, wherever I turned!"

  "The million-dollar bride," laughed Polly.

  "Don't!" cried Constance. "Please don't, Polly! You've done quiteenough. Even you came to me out there that day to tell me that nowJohnny had made his million and was coming to propose to me. Why, youknew it before I did."

  "I'm sorry I found it out," apologized Polly. "I got it from Loring."

  "Why didn't you say that it was Loring who told you?" demandedConstance, disposed now to be indignant at everything.

  "I didn't know you were jealous," retorted Polly.

  "Jealous!" exclaimed Constance. "Why, Johnny wasn't even civil to anyother girl."

  Polly smiled knowingly.

  "Then why did you quarrel with him?"

  "I didn't," denied Constance. "He came the minute you left and I'd havescreamed if he had proposed then, so I went away. He dropped his strawhat, and it rolled after me and nearly touched me. He dropped it everytime I saw him that day. Also he added the final indignity--I overheardhim tell Mr. Courtney that he intended to marry me whether I liked itor not. Now, Polly, seriously, what would you have done if anythinglike that had happened to you?"

  Polly waited to gain her self-control.

  "I'd have taken the hat away from him," she declared.

  Constance sailed once more.

  "I didn't think of that," she admitted.

  "No, and instead here's what you've done," Polly pointed out to her:"You turned Johnny loose to look after himself, and he isn't capable ofit since he fell in love; so for the last two weeks he's been as savageas any ordinary business man. That's one thing. For another, you'vemade yourself sick just pining and grieving for a sight of JohnnyGamble."

  "I haven't!" indignantly denied Constance, and to prove that assertionher eyes filled with tears. She covered them with her handkerchief andPolly petted her, and they both felt better. "I think I'll dress,"declared Constance after she had been thus refreshed. "My headache'smuch improved and I think I'd like to go somewhere." She hesitated amoment.

  "You know everybody was to have gathered here to join Courtney'sDecoration Day party this afternoon," she added.

  "Yes, I remember that," retorted Polly, "but I didn't like to rub itin. Shall I call up everybody and tell them it's on again?"

  "Please," implored Constance, "and, Polly--"

  "Yes?"

  "Tell Johnny to bring his Baltimore straw hat."

  While Polly was trying to get his number, Johnny Gamble sat face toface with his old partner.

  "You have your nerve to come to me," he said, as the eyebrowless youngman sat himself comfortably in Johnny's favorite leather arm-chair.

  "There's nobody else to go to," explained Collaton, with an attempt atjauntiness. "I'm dead broke, and if I don't have two thousand dollarsto-morrow I'll quite likely be pinched."

  "I'm jealous," stated Johnny. "I had intended to do it myself."

  "I've been expecting you to," acknowledged Collaton. "That's one of thereasons I came to you."

  "I admire you," observed Johnny dryly. "You bled me for two years, andyet you have the ingrowing gall to come and tell me you're broke."

  "Well, it's the truth," defended Collaton. "Look here, Johnny; I'veheard that you made a lot of money in the last few weeks, but youhaven't had any more attachments against you, have you?"

  "You bet I haven't," returned Johnny savagely. "I've been waiting forjust one more attempt, and then I intended--"

  "I know," interrupted Collaton. "You intended to beat Gresham andJacobs and me to a pulp; and then have us pinched for disorderlyconduct, and try to dig up the evidence at the trial."

  "Well, something like that," admitted Johnny with a grin.

  "I knew it," corroborated Collaton. "I told them when to stop."

  "I guess you'll be a good witness," surmised Johnny. "How deep were youin on this Birchard deal? How much did you get?"

  "Did Gresham and Birchard pull something?" inquired Collaton with suchacute interest that Johnny felt sure he had taken no part in thatswindle.

  "Well, yes," agreed Johnny with a wince, as he thought of his lostmillion. "They did pull a little trick. Did you know Birchard verywell?"

  "I wouldn't say what I know about Birchard except on a witness-stand,"chuckled Collaton, "but I can tell you this much: if he got anything,throw it a good-by kiss; for he can rub himself out better than any manI ever saw. He's practised hiding till he doesn't know himself where heis half of the time."

  "I've passed him up," stated Johnny. "The only people I'm after areGresham and Jacobs and you."

  "I wonder if you wouldn't pin a medal on one of us if he'd give you theother two," conjectured Collaton, smoothing his freckled cheek andstudying Johnny with his head on one side.

  "We're not coining medals this year," declared Johnny, "but if it's youyou're talking about, and you'll give me Gresham and Jacobs, I'llpromise you a chance to stand outside the bars and look in at them."

  "It's a bet," decided Collaton promptly. "I split up with Gresham twoor three weeks ago at Coney Island, when he wanted me to go in on a bigscheme against you, and I suppose it was this Birchard stunt. I toldhim I'd had enough. Your money began to look troublesome to me. Thatwas the day you were down there with the girl."

  "There's no girl in this," warned Johnny. "Now tell me just what you
can do."

  "Will you wipe me off the slate?"

  "Clean as a whistle," promised Johnny. "If my lawyer lets you beconvicted I'll go to jail in your place."

  "It's like getting over-change by mistake," gratefully returnedCollaton. "I'm tired of the game, Johnny, and if I can get out of thisI'll stay straight the balance of my life."

  "You'll die in the top tier, with the pentitentiary chaplain writingyour farewell letters," prophesied Johnny. "What did you say you coulddo?"

  "Well, I can incriminate not only Jacobs but Gresham in those phoneyattachments, and I can hand you the Gamble-Collaton books," set forthCollaton. "Gresham got them away from me to take care of and then heldthem over me as a threat; but I got them back yesterday by offering topound his head off. He's a bigger coward than I am."

  "How much money did you say you wanted?" inquired Johnny.

  "Five thousand," returned Collaton cheerfully.

  "You said two."

  "I have to have two and I need the rest. I thought maybe I could sellyou my interest in The Gamble-Collaton Irrigation Company. There'sseveral thousand acres of land out there, you know."

  "I haven't laid a finger on you yet," Johnny reminded him, "but if youmake another offer to sell me that land I don't know how I'll stand thestrain."

  "Well, say you give me the money for fun then," amended Collaton. "Ididn't know anything about this Birchard deal, but since you'vementioned it I can piece together a lot of things that mean somethingnow. I'll help you chase that down, and you can afford to spare me fivethousand. Why, Johnny, I'm a poor sucker that has made the unfortunatefinancial mistake of being crooked; and you're the luckiest cuss in theworld. To begin with, you're square; and that's the biggest stroke ofluck that can happen. Everybody likes you, you're a swift money-maker,and you've got a girl--now don't get chesty--that would make any man goout and chew bulldogs."

  Johnny reflected over that statement and turned a trifle bitter. He hadno million dollars; he had no friends; he had no girl! He contemplatedcalling the police.

  The telephone bell rang.

  "Hello, Polly," he said vigorously into the interrupting instrument,and then Collaton, watching him anxiously, saw his face light up like aMardi Gras illumination. "Bring my Baltimore straw hat!" jubilatedJohnny. "Polly, I'll bring one if I have to go to Baltimore to get it."He paused, and the transmitter in front of his face almost glistenedwith reflected high-lights. "Engagements! For to-day?" exulted Johnny."I'm at liberty right now. How soon may I come over?" He listened againwith a wide-spread grin. Collaton rolled a cigarette with black tobaccoand brown paper, lighted it and smiled comfortably. "Can't I talk toConstance a minute?" implored Johnny, trying to push in the troubloustremolo stop. "Oh, is she? All right; I'll be over in about twentyminutes. No, I won't make it an hour, I said twenty minutes;" and stillsmiling with imbecile delight he hung up the receiver and turned toCollaton with a frown.

  "I think I can raise that two thousand for you," he decided. "Now tellme just what you know about Gresham and Birchard."