"End of Jimmy?" exclaimed Zoie, "it'll be the end of ALL of us."

"I can see our pictures in the papers, right now," groaned Aggie. "Jimmy will be the villain."

"Jimmy IS a villain," declared Zoie. "Where is he? Why doesn't he come back? How am I ever going to get that other twin?"

"There is only one thing to do," decided Aggie, "I must go for it myself." And she s.n.a.t.c.hed up her cape from the couch and started toward the door.

"You?" cried Zoie, in alarm, "and leave me alone?"

"It's our only chance," argued Aggie. "I'll have to do it now, before Alfred gets back."

"But Aggie," protested Zoie, clinging to her departing friend, "suppose that crazy mother should come back?"

"Nonsense," replied Aggie, and before Zoie could actually realise what was happening the bang of the outside door told her that she was alone.

CHAPTER XXV

Wondering what new terrors awaited her, Zoie glanced uncertainly from door to door. So strong had become her habit of taking refuge in the bed, that unconsciously she backed toward it now. Barely had she reached the centre of the room when a terrific crash of breaking gla.s.s from the adjoining room sent her shrieking in terror over the footboard, and head first under the covers. Here she would doubtless have remained until suffocated, had not Jimmy in his backward flight from one of the inner rooms overturned a large rocker. This additional shock to Zoie's overstrung nerves forced a wild scream from her lips, and an answering exclamation from the nerve-racked Jimmy made her sit bolt upright. She gazed at him in astonishment. His tie was awry, one end of his collar had taken leave of its anchorage beneath his stout chin, and was now just tickling the edge of his red, perspiring brow. His hair was on end and his feelings were undeniably ruffled. As usual Zoie's greeting did not tend to conciliate him.

"How did YOU get here?" she asked with an air of reproach.

"The fire-escape," panted Jimmy and he nodded mysteriously toward the inner rooms of the apartment.

"Fire-escape?" echoed Zoie. There was only one and that led through the bathroom window.

Jimmy explained no further. He was now peeping cautiously out of the window toward the pavement below.

"Where's the mother?" demanded Zoie.

Jimmy jerked his thumb in the direction of the street. Zoie gazed at him with grave apprehension.

"Jimmy!" she exclaimed. "You haven't killed her?"

Jimmy shook his head and continued to peer cautiously out of the window.

"What did you do with her?" called the now exasperated Zoie.

"What did _I_ do with her?" repeated Jimmy, a flash of his old resentment returning. "What did SHE do with ME?"

For the first time, Zoie became fully conscious of Jimmy's ludicrous appearance. Her overstrained nerves gave way and she began to laugh hysterically.

"Say," shouted Jimmy, towering over the bed and devoutly wishing that she were his wife so that he might strike her with impunity. "Don't you sic any more lunatics onto me."

It is doubtful whether Zoie's continued laughter might not have provoked Jimmy to desperate measures, had not the 'phone at that moment directed their thoughts toward worse possibilities. After the instrument had continued to ring persistently for what seemed to Zoie an age, she motioned to Jimmy to answer it. He responded by retreating to the other side of the room.

"It may be Aggie," suggested Zoie.

For the first time, Jimmy became aware that Aggie was nowhere in the apartment.

"Good Lord!" he exclaimed, as he realised that he was again tete-a-tete with the terror of his dreams. "Where IS Aggie?"

"Gone to do what YOU should have done," was Zoie's characteristic answer.

"Well," answered Jimmy hotly, "it's about time that somebody besides me did something around this place."

"YOU," mocked Zoie, "all YOU'VE ever done was to hoodoo me from the very beginning."

"If you'd taken my advice," answered Jimmy, "and told your husband the truth about the luncheon, there'd never have been any 'beginning.'"

"If, if, if," cried Zoie, in an agony of impatience, "if you'd tipped that horrid old waiter enough, he'd never have told anyway."

"I'm not buying waiters to cover up your crimes," announced Jimmy with his most self-righteous air.

"You'll be buying more than that to cover up your OWN crimes before you've finished," retorted Zoie.

"Before I've finished with YOU, yes," agreed Jimmy. He wheeled upon her with increasing resentment. "Do you know where I expect to end up?" he asked.

"I know where you OUGHT to end up," snapped Zoie.

"I'll finish in the electric chair," said Jimmy. "I can feel blue lightning chasing up and down my spine right now."

"Well, I wish you HAD finished in the electric chair," declared Zoie, "before you ever dragged me into that awful old restaurant."

"Oh, you do, do you?" answered Jimmy shaking his fist at her across the foot of the bed. For the want of adequate words to express his further feelings, Jimmy was beginning to jibber, when the outer door was heard to close, and he turned to behold Aggie entering hurriedly with something partly concealed by her long cape.

"It's all right," explained Aggie triumphantly to Zoie. "I've got it."

She threw her cape aside and disclosed the fruits of her conquest.

"So," snorted Jimmy in disgust, slightly miffed by the apparent ease with which Aggie had accomplished a task about which he had made so much ado, "you've gone into the business too, have you?"

Aggie deigned no reply to him. She continued in a businesslike tone to Zoie.

"Where's Alfred?" she asked.

"Still out," answered Zoie.

"Thank Heaven," sighed Aggie, then she turned to Jimmy and addressed him in rapid, decided tones. "Now, dear," she said, "I'll just put the new baby to bed, then I'll give you the other one and you can take it right down to the mother."

Jimmy made a vain start in the direction of the fire-escape. Four detaining hands were laid upon him.

"Don't try anything like that," warned Aggie; "you can't get out of this house without that baby. The mother is down stairs now. She's guarding the door. I saw her." And Aggie sailed triumphantly out of the room to make the proposed exchange of babies.

Before Jimmy was able to suggest to himself an escape from Aggie's last plan of action, the telephone again began to cry for attention.

Neither Jimmy nor Zoie could summon courage to approach the impatient instrument, and as usual Zoie cried frantically for Aggie.