“I do not consider him so clever as his captor,” said Arthur smoothly.  “It did not take you long to discover where he had hidden.  Why, he has only returned to America about fifteen months ago.”

“Eleven months ago—­even less than that, I think,” retorted Le Drieux, with much pride.  “Let me see,” taking out a notebook, “Andrews landed from the Princess Irene on the twenty-seventh of January last.”

“Oh, the twenty-seventh?  Are you sure of that?” said Arthur.

“Of course.”

“I was under the impression he landed on the twenty-fifth.”

“No; you are wrong.  Why, I met the boat myself, but missed him, although he was on the passenger list.  He disembarked very slyly, I afterward learned, being doubtless afraid he would be arrested.  But at that time I had no positive evidence against him.”

Arthur asked a few more questions of no importance and then bade Le Drieux good night and rejoined the girls.

“You win, Maud,” he remarked as he sat down.  “That clew of yours was an inspiration.  Andrews arrived in America on January twenty-seventh, just one day after Jones had a motion picture of himself taken at the stockholders’ meeting of the Continental Film Company.”

“Then we needn’t worry over Ajo any longer!” asserted Patsy joyfully.  “With this evidence and the testimony of Captain Carg and his pearls, the most stupid judge on earth would declare the boy innocent.  Why, Beth, we shall get our theatres built, after all!”

CHAPTER XXIV

PICTURE NUMBER NINETEEN

“Well, where have you been?” demanded Goldstein gruffly, as Maud Stanton entered his office the next morning in response to a summons from the Continental manager.  “What made you run away yesterday?  Don’t you know such things make us lots of trouble and cost us money?”

“I’m not worrying about that,” replied Maud, as she composedly sat down opposite the manager.

Goldstein glared at her, but he was cautious.

“You’re a fine actress, Miss Stanton, and you’re popular on the films,” he said, “but if you cannot attend to business we are paying you too much money.”

“Indeed!”

“No other firm could afford to give you so much, you know that; and the only reason we are so extravagant is because you are one of our features.”

“Am I to take this as a dismissal?” she asked carelessly.

“Dismissal!” he cried, holding up his hands.  “Of course not.  Who is talking of dismissal?  But I owe a duty to my firm.  Such actions as yours, in running away from rehearsals, must have a—­a—­reprimand.  Not severe; I am not so angry as grieved; but a reprimand is your due—­and that fly-away sister of yours is just as bad.”

“We went to assist your president—­Mr. Jones—­to establish his innocence of the awful charge made against him,” she explained.