llars and a rake-off on two
hundred a week alimony!"

"Alimony!" Miss Haig cried, with an excellent assumption of surprise.
"Is Mrs. Fieldstone suing Mont for divorce?"

She was attempting a diversion in Ralph's favour, but it was no use.

"Excuse me, Miss Haig," Bienenflug said raspingly, for in the light of
his vanished counsel fee and alimony he knew now that Miss Haig was a
siren, a vampire, and altogether a dangerous female. "I don't discuss
one client's affairs with another!"

"Oh, all right!" Miss Haig said, and she walked out into the hallway
and slammed the door behind her.

"Now you get out of here!" Bienenflug shouted, and Ralph barely had
time to grab his hat when he found himself in front of the elevators
with Miss Haig.

"What's the matter?" she said. "Did Mr. Bienenflug fire you?"

Ralph could not trust himself to words; he was too busy trying to
prevent his lower lip from wagging.

"Well," Miss Haig went on, "I guess you wouldn't have no trouble
finding another job. What did he do it for?"

"I couldn't help her skipping out," Ralph said huskily; "and besides,
she ain't going to sue for no divorce, anyway. She said so before she
went."

Miss Haig nodded and her rosebud mouth straightened into as thin a line
as one could expect of a _rouge-a-levre_ rosebud.

"She did, eh?" she rejoined. "Well, if she was to change her mind do
you suppose Bienenflug would give you back your job?"

"Maybe!" Ralph said.

"Then here's your chance!" Miss Haig said. "You're a smart kid, Ralph;
so all you've got to do is to get Mrs. Fieldstone round to Sam's at
half-past eleven to-night--and if she don't change her mind I miss my
guess."

"Why will she?" Ralph asked.

"Because," Miss Haig replied, as she made ready to descend in the
elevator, "just about that time Fieldstone'll be pretty near kissing
her to make her take fifty dollars a week less than she'll ask."

"Kissing who?" Ralph demanded.

"Be there at half-past eleven," Miss Haig said, "and you'll see!"

* * * * *

Though Ralph Zinsheimer had performed the functions of an office boy in
Rooms 6000 to 6020 he was, in fact, "over and above the age of eighteen
years," as prescribed by that section of the Code of Civil Procedure
dealing with the service of process. Indeed he was so manly for his age
that Mr. Bienenflug in moments of enthusiasm had occasionally referred
to him as "our managing clerk, Mr. Zinsheim