Bancroft, you just take yourself away from
this hangar as quickly as possible. I don't want anything to do with you,
do you understand? It's none of my business if Roy goes off and forgets
to tell you where to find him. How do you know he hasn't gone off with
those jewels?"

"What do you mean?"

Jimsy's tone was as angry in reality now as Fanning Harding's had been
for effect a few seconds before.

But Fanning, in his bitter enmity toward Roy, could not see the danger
signals in Jimsy's honest gray eyes.

"What do I mean?" he drawled; "why, just this, that the investigation of
the police has taken a new turn in the last few days, and that Roy is
likely to be arrested within the next twenty-four hours for robbery. I'll
bet he got wind of it and skipped out. I'll bet----"

"How dare you?"

Peggy, eyes aflame, stepped up. Her bosom heaved angrily.

"How dare you say such things? You--you coward."

"Well, I ain't coward enough to steal a girl's jewels and then----"

"Hold on there, Fanning. Stop right there."

It was Jimsy's turn. But Fanning was too much worked up in his vindictive
anger to stop.

"I won't stop," he shouted. "I'll say it right out. Roy Prescott is a----"

But before he could utter another word Jimsy's fist had shot out, and
Fanning's chin happening to be in the way he felt himself suddenly
propelled off his feet and elevated into the air. He sought to recover
his balance as he reeled, but his foot caught in a bit of turf, and
whirling his arms about like one of those figures on the top of a barn he
measured his length.

"Had enough?" asked Jimsy mildly, rolling up his sleeves.

"No, you despicable young whelp!" roared Fanning, utterly throwing aside
all prudence. "I haven't."

He leaped to his feet and rushed toward Jimsy. As he did so Jess gave a
shriek. In the angry, half-crazed youth's hand there glistened a long
clasp knife.

"Jimsy! Look out!" cried the girl.

But before the frenzied Fan could spring upon Jimsy, who was utterly
unprepared for the production of the deadly weapon, a dainty foot in
white canvas outing shoes and silk stockings flashed out from under
Peggy's skirt. It caught Fanning as he sprang, and the next instant, for
the second time that day, he fell sprawling on the ground.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE DARING OF PEGGY.

By the time he had risen to his feet several of the officials of the
track were seen approaching, and Fanning, with a scowl of deep disgust