How bridge the gulf between Jimmie Dale and Larry the Bat in old Jason's eyes! Nor was that all.

There was still another matter, and one that, in order to counteract it, demanded at once a serious inroad--to the extent of a telephone call--upon his slender capital.

A too prolonged and unaccounted-for absence from home, and old Jason, in his anxious, blundering solicitude, would have the fat in the fire at that end--and the city, and the social firmament thereof, would be humming with the startling news of the disappearance of a well-known millionaire.

The complications that would then ensue, with himself powerless to lift a finger, Jimmie Dale did not care to think about--such a contretemps must at all hazards be prevented.
Jimmie Dale reached the corner of the street, where it intersected the Bowery, and paused languidly by the curb.

No one appeared to be following.