He saw reflected therein a very well satisfied face,
with brightly confident eyes and the suggestion of a triumphant
smile.
Hatch accompanied the moody Mr. Webster to the warehouse office.
"Strikes me, Charlie," said he, thoughtfully, "that of the two our
friend Courtney seems a long sight more genuine than this feller
Blythe. I guess you're off your base, old boy. Why, darn it, he
had Blythe up in the air half the time. If I was a betting man,
I'd put up a hundred or two that Blythe never even saw the places
they were talking about."
"Do you think Blythe is a fake?" cried Charlie in some heat.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say that," said Hatch diplomatically,
"but you'll have to admit that Court asked him a lot of questions
he didn't seem able to answer."
Charlie stared hard at the floor for a few seconds. Then: "Well, if
I was to ask you what my mother's maiden name was, Tintype, you'd
have to say you didn't know, wouldn't you?"
"Sure," said Hatch. "But I wouldn't go so far as to say I wasn't
certain whether she had a maiden name or not, would I?"
"There's no use arguing with you, Hatch," said Charlie irritably,
and turned to his desk by the window, there to frown fiercely over
his scales book.
II
Alix and Miss Blythe were sitting in front of the fireplace when
young Blythe entered the living-room on his return from Dowd's
Tavern.
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