BLINDFOLDED

By

EARLE ASHLEY WALCOTT

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

 I A DANGEROUS ERRAND II A CRY FOR HELP III A QUESTION IN THE NIGHT IV A CHANGE OF NAME V DODDRIDGE KNAPP VI A NIGHT AT BORTON'S VII MOTHER BORTON VIII IN WHICH I MEET A FEW SURPRISES IX A DAY IN THE MARKET X A TANGLE OF SCHEMES XI THE DEN OF THE WOLF XII LUELLA KNAPP XIII A DAY OF GRACE XIV MOTHER BORTON'S ADVICE XV I AM IN THE TOILS XVI AN ECHO OF WARNING XVII IN A FOREIGN LAND XVIII THE BATTLE IN THE MAZE XIX A DEAL IN STOCKS XX MAKING PROGRESS XXI AT THE BIDDING OF THE UNKNOWN XXII TRAILED XXIII A PIECE OF STRATEGY XXIV ON THE ROAD XXV A FLUTTER IN THE MARKET XXVI A VISION OF THE NIGHT XXVII A LINK IN THE CHAIN XXVIII THE CHASE IN THE STORM XXIX THE HEART OF THE MYSTERY XXX THE END OF THE JOURNEY XXXI THE REWARD

BLINDFOLDED

CHAPTER I

A DANGEROUS ERRAND

A city of hills with a fringe of houses crowning the lower heights;half-mountains rising bare in the background and becoming realmountains as they stretched away in the distance to right and left; aconfused mass of buildings coming to the water's edge on the flat; aforest of masts, ships swinging in the stream, and the streaked, yellow, gray-green water of the bay taking a cold light from thesetting sun as it struggled through the wisps of fog that flutteredabove the serrated sky-line of the city--these were my firstimpressions of San Francisco. 

The wind blew fresh and chill from the west with the damp and salt ofthe Pacific heavy upon it, as I breasted it from the forward deck ofthe ferry steamer, _El Capitan_. As I drank in the air and wassilent with admiration of the beautiful panorama that was spread beforeme, my companion touched me on the arm. 

"Come into the cabin, " he said. "You'll be one of those fellows whocan't come to San Francisco without catching his death of cold, andthen lays it on to the climate instead of his own lack of common sense. Come, I can't spare you, now I've got you here at last. I wouldn't loseyou for a million dollars. "

"I'll come for half the money, " I returned, as he took me by the armand led me into the close cabin. 

My companion, I should explain, was Henry Wilton, the son of myfather's cousin, who had the advantages of a few years of residence inCalifornia, and sported all the airs of a pioneer. We had been closefriends through boyhood and youth, and it was on his offer ofemployment that I had come to the city by the Golden Gate. 

"What a resemblance!" I heard a woman exclaim, as we entered the cabin. "They must be twins. "

"There, Henry, " I whispered, with a laugh; "you see we are discovered. "Though our relationship was not close we had been cast in the mold ofsome common ancestor. We were so nearly alike in form and feature as toperplex all but our intimate acquaintances, and we had made theresemblance the occasion of many tricks in our boyhood days. 

Henry had heard the exclamation as well as I. To my surprise, itappeared to bring him annoyance or apprehension rather than amusement. 

"I had forgotten that it would make us conspicuous, " he said, more tohimself than to me, I thought; and he glanced through the cabin asthough he looked for some peril. 

"We were used to that long ago, " I said, as we found a seat. "Is thebusiness ready for me? You wrote that you thought it would be in handby the time I got here. "

"We can't talk about it here, " he said in a low tone. "There is plentyof work to be done. It's not hard, but, as I wrote you, it needs a manof pluck and discretion. It's delicate business, you understand, anddangerous if you can't keep your head. But the danger won't be yours. I've got that end of it. "

"Of course you're not trying to do anything against the law?" I said. 

"Oh, it has nothing to do with the law, " he replied with an odd smile. "In fact, it's a little matter in which we are--well, you might say--outside the law. "

I gave a gasp at this disturbing suggestion, and Henry chuckled as hesaw the consternation written on my face. Then he rose and said:

"Come, the boat is getting in. "

"But I want to know--" I began. 

"Oh, bother your 'want-to-knows. ' It's not against the law--justoutside it, you understand. I'll tell you more of it when we get to myroom. Give me that valise. Come along now. " And as the boat entered theslip we found ourselves at the front of the pressing crowd that isalways surging in and out of San Francisco by the gateway of theMarket-Street ferry. 

As we pushed our way through the clamoring hack-drivers and hotel-runners who blocked the entrance to the city, I was roused by a suddenthrill of the instinct of danger that warns one when he meets the eyeof a snake. It was gone in an instant, but I had time to trace effectto cause. The warning came this time from the eyes of a man, a lithe, keen-faced man who flashed a look of triumphant malice on us as hedisappeared in the waiting-room of the ferry-shed. But the keen face, and the basilisk glance were burned into my mind in that moment asdeeply as though I had known then what evil was behind them. 

My companion swore softly to himself. 

"What's the matter?" I asked. 

"Don't look around, " he said. "We are watched. "

"The snake-eyed man?"

"Did you see him, too?" His manner was careless, but his tone wastroubled. "I thought I had given him the slip, " he continued. "Well, there's no help for it now. "

"Are we to hunt for a hiding-place?" I asked doubtfully. 

"Oh, no; not now. I was going to take you direct to my room. Now we aregoing to a hotel with all the publicity we can get. Here we are. "

"Internaytional! Internaytional!" shouted a runner by our side. "Yes, sir; here you are, sir. Free 'bus, sir. " And in another moment we werein the lumbering coach, and as soon as the last lingering passenger hadcome from the boat we were whirling over the rough pavement, through aconfusing maze of streets, past long rows of dingy, ugly buildings, tothe hotel. 

Though the sun had but just set, the lights were glimmering in thewindows along Kearny Street as we stepped from the 'bus, and thetwilight was rapidly fading into darkness. 

"A room for the night, " ordered Henry, as we entered the hotel officeand saluted the clerk. 

"Your brother will sleep with you?" inquired the clerk. 

"Yes. "

"That's right--if you are sure you can tell which is which in themorning, " said the clerk, with a smile at his poor joke. 

Henry smiled in return, paid the bill, took the key, and we were shownto our room. After removing the travel-stains, I declared myself quiteready to dine. 

"We won't need this again, " said Henry, tossing the key on the bureauas we left. "Or no, on second thought, " he continued, "it's just aswell to leave the door locked. There might be some inquisitivecallers. " And we betook ourselves to a hasty meal that was not of anature to raise my opinion of San Francisco. 

"Are you through?" asked my companion, as I shook my head over amelancholy piece of pie, and laid down my fork. "Well, take your bag. This door--look pleasant and say nothing. "

He led the way to the bar and then through a back room or two, untilwith a turn we were in a blind alley. With a few more steps we foundourselves in a back hall which led into another building. I becameconfused after a little, and lost all idea of the direction in which wewere going. We mounted one flight of stairs, I remember, and afterpassing through two or three winding hallways and down another flight, came out on a side street. 

After a pause to observe the street before we ventured forth, Henrysaid:

"I guess we're all right now. We must chance it, anyhow. " So we dodgedalong in the shadow till we came to Montgomery Street, and after abrief walk, turned into a gloomy doorway and mounted a worn pair ofstairs. 

The house was three stories in height. It stood on the corner of analley, and the lower floor was intended for a store or saloon; but arenting agent's sign and a collection of old show-bills ornamenting thedirty windows testified that it was vacant. The liquor businessappeared to be overdone in that quarter, for across the alley, hardlytwenty feet away, was a saloon; across Montgomery Street was another;and two more held out their friendly lights on the corner of the streetabove. 

In the saloons the disreputability was cheerful, and cheerfullyacknowledged with lights and noise, here of a broken piano, there of awheezy accordion, and, beyond, of a half-drunken man singing orshouting a ribald song. Elsewhere it was sullen and dark, --the lights, where there were lights, glittering through chinks, or showing theoutlines of drawn curtains. 

"This isn't just the place I'd choose for entertaining friends, " saidHenry, with a visible relief from his uneasiness, as we climbed theworn and dirty stair. 

"Oh, that's all right, " I said, magnanimously accepting his apology. 

"It doesn't have all the modern conveniences, " admitted Henry as westumbled up the second flight, "but it's suitable to the business wehave in hand, and--"

"What's that?" I exclaimed, as a creaking, rasping sound came from thehall below. 

We stopped and listened, peering into the obscurity beneath. 

Nothing but silence. The house might have been a tomb for any sign oflife that showed within it. 

"It must have been outside, " said Henry. "I thought for a momentperhaps--" Then he checked himself. "Well, you'll know later, " heconcluded, and opened the door of the last room on the right of thehall. 

As we entered, he held the door ajar for a full minute, listeningintently. The obscurity of the hall gave back nothing to eye or ear, and at last he closed the door softly and touched a match to the gas. 

The room was at the rear corner of the building. There were twowindows, one looking to the west, the other to the north and opening onthe narrow alley. 

"Not so bad after you get in, " said Henry, half as an introduction, half as an apology. 

"It's luxury after six days of railroading, " I replied. 

"Well, lie down there, and make the most of it, then, " he said, "forthere may be trouble ahead. " And he listened again at the crack of thedoor. 

"In Heaven's name, Henry, what's up?" I exclaimed with some temper. "You're as full of mysteries as a dime novel. "

Henry smiled grimly. 

"Maybe you don't recognize that this is serious business, " he said. 

"I don't understand it at all. "

"Well, I'm not joking. There's mischief afoot, and I'm in danger. "

"From whom? From what?"

"Never mind that now. It's another person's business--not mine, youunderstand--and I can't explain until I know whether you are to be oneof us or not. "

"That's what I came for, isn't it?"

"Hm! You don't seem to be overly pleased with the job. "

"Which isn't surprising, when I haven't the first idea what it is, except that it seems likely to get me killed or in jail. "

"Oh, if you're feeling that way about it, I know of another job thatwill suit you better in--"

"I'm not afraid, " I broke in hotly. "But I want to see the noose beforeI put my head in it. "

"Then I'm sure the assistant bookkeeper's place I have in mind will--"

"Confound your impudence!" I cried, laughing in spite of myself at theway he was playing on me. "Assistant bookkeeper be hanged! I'm with youfrom A to Z; but if you love me, don't keep me in the dark. "

"I'll tell you all you need to know. Too much might be dangerous. "

I was about to protest that I could not know too much, when Henryraised his hand with a warning to silence. I heard the sound of acautious step outside. Then Henry sprang to the door, flung it open, and bolted down the passage. There was the gleam of a revolver in hishand. I hurried after him, but as I crossed the threshold he was comingsoftly back, with finger on lips. 

"I must see to the guards again. I can have them together by midnight. "

"Can I help?"

"No. Just wait here till I get back. Bolt the door, and let nobody inbut me. It isn't likely that they will try to do anything beforemidnight. If they do--well, here's a revolver. Shoot through the doorif anybody tries to break it down. "

I stood in the door, revolver in hand, watched him down the hall, andlistened to his footsteps as they descended the stairs and at lastfaded away into the murmur of life that came up from the open street. 

CHAPTER II

A CRY FOR HELP

I hastily closed and locked the door. It shut out at least the eyes andears that, to my excited imagination, lurked in the dark corners andhalf-hidden doorways of the dimly-lighted hall. And as I turned back tothe room my heart was heavy with bitter regret that I had ever left myhome. 

This was not at all what I had looked for when I started for the GoldenGate at my friend's offer of a "good place and a chance to get rich. "

Then I rallied my spirits with something of resolution, and shamedmyself with the reproach that I should fear to share any danger thatHenry was ready to face. Wearied as I was with travel, I was too muchexcited for sleep. Reading was equally impossible. I scarcely glancedat the shelf of books that hung on the wall, and turned to a study ofmy surroundings. 

The room was on the corner, as I have said, and I threw up the sash ofthe west window and looked out over a tangle of old buildings, ramshackle sheds, and an alley that appeared to lead nowhere. A woodenshutter swung from the frame-post of the window, reaching nearly to acrazy wooden stair that led from the black depths below. There werelights here and there in the back rooms. Snatches of drunken song andrude jest came up from an unseen doggery, and vile odors came withthem. Shadows seemed to move here and there among the dark places, butin the uncertain light I could not be sure whether they were men, oronly boxes and barrels. 

Some sound of a drunken quarrel drew my attention to the north window, and I looked out into the alley. The lights from Montgomery Streetscarcely gave shape to the gloom below the window, but I coulddistinguish three or four men near the side entrance of a saloon. Theyappeared quiet enough. The quarrel, if any there was, must be insidethe saloon. After an interval of comparative silence, the noise roseagain. There were shouts and curses, sounds as of a chair broken andtables upset, and one protesting, struggling inebriate was hurled outfrom the front door and left, with threats and foul language, tocollect himself from the pavement. 

This edifying incident, which was explained to me solely by sound, hadscarcely come to an end when a noise of creaking boards drew my eyes tothe other window. The shutter suddenly flew around, and a human figureswung in at the open casing. Astonishment at this singular proceedingdid not dull the instinct of self-defense. The survey of mysurroundings and the incident of the bar-room row had in a measureprepared me for any desperate doings, and I had swung a chair ready tostrike a blow before I had time to think. 

"S-h-h!" came the warning whisper, and I recognized my supposed robber. It was Henry. 

His clothes and hair were disordered, and his face and hands were grimywith dust. 

"Don't speak out loud, " he said in suppressed tones. "Wait till Ifasten this shutter. The other one's gone, but nobody can get in fromthat side unless they can shin up thirty feet of brick wall. "

"Shall I shut the window?" I asked, thoroughly impressed by his manner. 

"No, you'll make too much noise, " he said, stripping off his coat andvest. "Here, change clothes with me. Quick! It's a case of life anddeath. I must be out of here in two minutes. Do as I say, now. Don'task questions. I'll tell you about it in a day or two. No, just thecoat and vest. There--give me that collar and tie. Where's your hat?"

The changes were completed, or rather his were, and he stood looking asmuch like me as could be imagined. 

"Don't stir from this room till I come back, " he whispered. "You candress in anything of mine you like. I'll be in before twelve, or send amessenger if I'm not coming. By-by. "

He was gone before I could say a word, and only an occasional creakingboard told me of his progress down the stairs. He had evidently hadsome practice in getting about quietly. I could only wonder, as Iclosed and locked the door, whether it was the police or a privateenemy that he was trying to avoid. 

I had small time to speculate on the possibilities, for outside thewindow I heard the single word, "Help!"

The cry was half-smothered, and followed by a gurgling sound and noiseas of a scuffle in the alley. 

I rushed to the window and looked out. A band of half a dozen men wasstruggling and pushing away from Montgomery Street into the darker endof the alley. They were nearly under the window. 

"Give it to him, " said a voice. 

In an instant there came a scream, so freighted with agony that itburst the bonds of gripping fingers and smothering palms that tried toclose it in, and rose for the fraction of a second on the foul air ofthe alley. Then a light showed and a tall, broad-shouldered figureleaped back. 

"These aren't the papers, " it hissed. "Curse on you, you've got thewrong man!"

There was a moment's confusion, and the light flashed on the man whohad spoken and was gone. But that flash had shown me the face of a manI could never forget--a man whose destiny was bound up for a briefperiod with mine, and whose wicked plans have proved the masterinfluence of my life. It was a strong, cruel, wolfish face--the face ofa man near sixty, with a fierce yellow-gray mustache and imperial--aface broad at the temples and tapering down into a firm, unyieldingjaw, and marked then with all the lines of rage, hatred, and chagrin atthe failure of his plans. 

It took not a second for me to see and hear and know all this, for thevision came and was gone in the dropping of an eyelid. And then thereechoed through the alley loud cries of "Police! Murder! Help!" I wasconscious that there was a man running through the hall and down therickety stairs, making the building ring to the same cries. My ownfeelings were those of overmastering fear for my friend. He had gone onhis mysterious, dangerous errand, and I felt that it was he who hadbeen dragged into the alley, and stabbed, perhaps to death. Yet itseemed I could make no effort, nor rouse myself from the stupor ofterror into which I was thrown by the scene I had witnessed. 

It was thus with a feeling of surprise that I found myself in thestreet, and came to know that the cries for help had come from me, andthat I was the man who had run through the hall and down the stairsshouting for the police. 

Singularly enough there was no crowd to be seen, and no excitementanywhere. Some one was playing a wheezy melodeon in the saloon, and menwere singing a drunken song. The alley was dark, and I could see no onein its depths. The house through which I had flown shouting was nowsilent, and if any one on the street had heard me he had hurried on andclosed his ears, lest evil befall him. Fortunately the policeman on thebeat was at hand, and I hailed him excitedly. 

"Only rolling a drunk, " he said lightly, as I told of what I had seen. 

"No, it's worse than that, " I insisted. "There was murder done, and I'mafraid it's my friend. "

He listened more attentively as I told him how Henry had left the housejust before the cry for help had risen. 

The policeman took me by the shoulders, turned me to the gaslight, andlooked in my face. 

"Excuse me, sor, " he said. "I see you're not one of that kind. Some of'em learns it from the blitherin' Chaneymen. "

I was mystified at the moment, but I found later that he suspected meof having had an opium dream. The house, I learned, was frequented bythe "opium fiends, " as they figure in police slang. 

"It's a nasty place, " he continued. "It's lucky I've got a light. " Hebrought up a dark lantern from his overcoat pocket, and stood in theshelter of the building as he lighted it. "There's not many as carries'em, " he continued, "but they're mighty handy at times. "

We made our way to the point beneath the window, where the men hadstood. 

There was nothing to be seen--no sign of struggle, no shred of tornclothing, no drop of blood. Body, traces and all had disappeared. 

CHAPTER III

A QUESTION IN THE NIGHT

I was stricken dumb at this end to the investigation, and half doubtedthe evidence of my eyes. 

"Well, " said the policeman, with a sigh of relief, "there's nothinghere. "

I suspected that his doubts of my sanity were returning. 

"Here is where it was done, " I asserted stoutly, pointing to the spotwhere I had seen the struggling group from the window. "There weresurely five or six men in it. "

The policeman turned his lantern on the spot. The rough pavement hadtaken no mark of the scuffle. 

"It's hard to make sure of things from above in this light, " said thepoliceman, hinting once more his suspicion that I was confusing dreamswith reality. 

"There was no mistaking that job, " I said. "See here, the alley leadsfarther back. Bring your light. "

"Aisy, now, " said the policeman. "I'll lead the way. Maybe you want oneyourself, as your friend has set the fashion. "

A few paces farther the alley turned at a right angle to the north, yawning dark behind the grim and threatening buildings, and filled withnoisome odors. We looked narrowly for a body, and then for traces thatmight give hint of the passage of a party. 

"Nothing here, " said the policeman, as we came out on the other street. "Maybe they've carried him into one of these back-door dens, and maybethey whisked him into a hack here, and are a mile or two away by now. "

"But we must follow them. He may be only wounded and can be rescued. And these men can be caught. " I was almost hysterical in my eagerness. 

"Aisy, aisy, now, " said the policeman. "Go back to your room, now. That's the safest place for you, and you can't do nothin' at all outhere. I'll report the case to the head office, an' we'll send out thealarm to the force. Now, here's your door. Just rest aisy, and they'lllet you know if anything's found. "

And he passed on, leaving me dazed with dread and despair in theentrance of the fateful house. 

The sounds of drunken pleasure were lessening about me. The custom hadfallen off in the saloon across the street to such extent that theproprietor was putting up the shutters. The saloon on the corner of thealley was still waiting for stray customers and I crossed over to itwith the thought that the inmates might give me a possible clue. A manhalf-asleep leaned back in a chair by the stove with his chin on hisbreast. Two rough-looking men at a table who were talking in low tonespretended not to notice my entrance, but their furtive glances gavemore eloquent evidence of their interest than the closest stare. 

The barkeeper eyed me with apparent openness. I called for a glass ofwine, partly as an excuse for my visit, and partly to revive my shakenspirits. 

"Any trouble about here to-night?" I asked in my most affable tone. 

The barkeeper looked at me with cold suspicion. 

"No, sir, " he said shortly. "This is the quietest neighborhood intown. "

"I should think there would be a disturbance every time that liquor wassold, " was my private comment, as I got the aftertaste of the dose. ButI merely wished him good night as I paid for the drink, and saunteredout. 

I promptly got into my doorway before any one could reach the street tosee whither I went, and listened to a growling comment and a mirthlesslaugh that followed my departure. Hardly had I gained my concealmentwhen the swinging doors of the saloon opened cautiously, and a facepeered out into the semi-darkness. With a muttered curse it went back, and I heard the barkeeper's voice in some jest about a failure to be"quick enough to catch flies. "

Once more in the room to wait till morning should give me a chance towork, I looked about the dingy place with a heart sunk to the lowestdepths. I was alone in the face of this mystery. I had not one friendin the city to whom I could appeal for sympathy, advice or money. Yet Ishould need all of these to follow this business to the end--to learnthe fate of my cousin, to rescue him, if alive and to avenge him, ifdead. 

Then, in the hope that I might find something among Henry's effects togive me a clue to the men who had attacked him, I went carefullythrough his clothes and his papers. But I found that he did not leavememoranda of his business lying about. The only scrap that could have apossible bearing on it was a sheet of paper in the coat he had changedwith me. It bore a rough map, showing a road branching thrice, withcrosses marked here and there upon it. Underneath was written:

"Third road--cockeyed barn--iron cow. "

Then followed some numerals mixed in a drunken dance with half theletters of the alphabet--the explanation of the map, I supposed, incipher, and as it might prove the clue to this dreadful business, Ifolded the sheet carefully in an envelope and placed it in an inmostpocket. 

The search having failed of definite results, I sat with chair tiltedagainst the wall to consider the situation. Turn it as I would, I couldmake nothing good of it. There were desperate enterprises afoot ofwhich I could see neither beginning nor end, purpose nor result. Irepented of my consent to mix in these dangerous doings and resolvedthat when the morning came I would find other quarters, take up thesearch for Henry, and look for such work as might be found. 

It was after midnight when I had come to this conclusion, and, barringdoors and windows as well as I could, I flung myself on the bed torest. I did not expect to sleep after the exciting events through whichI had passed; yet after a bit the train of mental pictures drawn out bythe surging memories of the night became confused and faded away, and Isank into an uneasy slumber. 

When I awoke it was with a start and an oppressive sense that somebodyelse was in the room. The gas-light that I had left burning had beenput out. Darkness was intense. The beating of my own heart was the onlysound I could distinguish. I sat upright and felt for the matches thatI had seen upon the stand. 

In another instant I was flung back upon the bed. Wiry fingers grippedmy throat, and a voice hissed in my ear:

"Where is he? Where is the boy? Give me your papers, or I'll wring thelife out of you!"

I was strong and vigorous, and, though taken at a disadvantage, struggled desperately enough to break the grip on my throat and get ahold upon my assailant. 

"Where is the boy?" gasped the voice once more; and then, as I made noreply, but twined my arms about him, my assailant saved all his breathfor the struggle. 

We rolled to the floor with a thud that shook the house, and in thischange of base I had the luck to come out uppermost. Then my couragerose as I found that I could hold my man. I feared a knife, but if hehad one he had not drawn it, and I was able to keep his hands too busyto allow him to get possession of it now. Finding that he was able toaccomplish nothing, he gave a short cry and called:

"Conn!"

I heard a confusion of steps outside, and a sound as of a muffled oath. Then the door opened, there was a rush of feet behind me, and the flashof a bull's-eye lantern. I released my enemy, and sprang back to thecorner where I could defend myself at some advantage. It was a poorchance for an unarmed man, but I found a chair and set my teeth to givean account of myself to the first who advanced, and reproached the lackof foresight that had allowed me to lay the revolver under the pillowinstead of putting it in my pocket. 

I could distinguish four dark figures of men; but, instead of rushingupon me as I stood on the defensive, they seized upon my assailant. Ilooked on panting, and hardly able to regain my breath. It was not halfa minute before my enemy was securely bound and gagged and carried out. One of the men lingered. 

"Don't take such risks, " he said. "I wouldn't have your job, Mr. Wilton, for all the old man's money. If we hadn't happened up here, you'd have been done for this time. "

"In God's name, man, what does all this mean?" I gasped. 

The man looked at me in evident surprise. 

"They've got a fresh start, I guess, " he said. "You'd better get someof the men up here. Mr. Richmond sent us up to bring this letter. "

He was gone silently, and I was left in the darkness. I struck a match, lighted the gas once more, and, securing the revolver, looked to theletter. The envelope bore no address. I tore it open. The lines werewritten in a woman's hand, and a faint but peculiar perfume rose fromthe paper, it bore but these words:

"Don't make the change until I see you. The money will be ready in themorning. Be at the bank at 10:30. "

The note, puzzling as it was, was hardly an addition to myperplexities. It was evident that I had been plunged into the center ofintrigue, plot and counterplot. I was supposed to have possession ofsomebody's boy. A powerful and active enemy threatened me with death. An equally active friend was working to preserve my safety. People ofwealth were concerned. I had dimly seen a fragment of the strugglingforces, and it was plain that only a very rich person could afford theluxury of hiring the bravos and guards who threatened and protected me. 

How wide were the ramifications of the mystery? Whose was the boy, andwhat was wanted of him? Had he been stolen from home and parents? Orwas he threatened with mortal danger and sent into hiding to keep himfrom death?

The fate of Henry showed the power of those who were pursuing me. Armedas he was with the knowledge of his danger, knowing, as I did not, whathe had to guard and from what he had to guard it, he had yet fallen avictim. 

I could not doubt that he was the man assaulted and stabbed in thealley below. But the fact that no trace of him or of a tragedy was tobe found gave me hope that he was still alive. Yet, at best, he waswounded and in the hands of his enemies, a prisoner to the men who hadsought his life. It must be, however, that he was not yet recognized. The transfer of the chase to me was proof that the scoundrels had beenmisled by the resemblance between us, and by the letters found in thecoat. They were convinced that he was Giles Dudley, and that I wasHenry Wilton. As long as there was hope that he was alive I woulddevote myself to searching for him and to helping him to recover hisliberty. 

As I was hoping, speculating, planning thus, I was startled to hear astep on the stair. 

The sound was not one that need be thought out of place in such a houseand neighborhood even though the hour was past four in the morning. But it struck a chill through me, and I listened with growingapprehension as it mounted step by step. 

The dread silence of the house that had cast its shadow of fear upon menow seemed to become vocal with protest against this intrusion, and tosend warning through the halls. At last the step halted before my doorand a loud knock startled the echoes. 

With a great bound my heart threw off its tremors, and I grasped therevolver firmly:

"Who's there?"

"Open the door, sor; I've news for ye. "

"Who are you?"

"Come now, no nonsense; I'm an officer. "

I unlocked the door and stepped to one side. My bump of caution haddeveloped amazingly in the few hours I had spent in San Francisco, and, in spite of his assurance, I thought best to avoid any chance of a rushfrom my unknown friends, and to put myself in a good position to use myrevolver if necessary. 

The man stepped in and showed his star. He was the policeman I had metwhen I had run shouting into the street. 

"I suspicion we've found your friend, " he said gravely. "You're wantedat the morgue. "

"Dead!" I gasped. 

"Dead as Saint Patrick--rest his sowl!"

CHAPTER IV

A CHANGE OF NAME

"Here's your way, sor, " said the policeman, turning into the old CityHall, as it was even then known, and leading me to one of the innerrooms of the labyrinth of offices. 

The odors of the prison were heavy upon the building. The foul air fromthe foul court-rooms and offices still hung about the entrance, and thefog-laden breeze of the early morning hours was powerless to freshenit. 

The policeman opened an office door, saluted, and motioned me to enter. 

"Detective Coogan, " he said, "here's your man. "

Detective Coogan, from behind his desk, nodded with the carelessdignity of official position. 

"Glad to see you, Mr. Wilton, " he said affably. 

If I betrayed surprise at being called by Henry's name, DetectiveCoogan did not notice it. But I hastened to disclaim the dangerousdistinction. 

"I am not Wilton, " I declared. "My name is Dudley--Giles Dudley. "

At this announcement Detective Coogan turned to the policeman. "Juststep into Morris' room, Corson, and tell him I'm going up to themorgue. "

"Now, " he continued, as the policeman closed the door behind him, "thiswon't do, Wilton. We've had to overlook a good deal, of course, but youneedn't think you can play us for suckers all the time. "

"But I tell you I'm not--" I began, when he interrupted me. 

"You can't make that go here, " he said contemptuously. "And I'll tellyou what, Wilton, I shall have to take you into custody if you don'tcome down to straight business. We don't want to chip in on the oldman's play, of course, especially as we don't know what his game is. "Detective Coogan appeared to regret this admission that he was notomniscient, and went on hastily: "You know as well as we do that wedon't want any fight with _him_. But I'll tell you right now thatif you force a fight, we'll make it so warm for him that he'll have tothrow _you_ overboard to lighten ship. "

Here was a fine prospect conveyed by Detective Coogan's picturesqueconfusion of metaphors. If I persisted in claiming my own name andperson I was to be clapped into jail, and charged with Heaven-knows-what crimes. If I took my friend's name, I was to invite the career ofadventure of which I had just had a taste. And while this was flashingthrough my mind, I wondered idly who the "old man" could be. The note Ihad received was certainly in a lady's hand. But if the lady wasHenry's employer, it was evident that he had dealt with the police asthe representative of a man of power. 

My decision was of necessity promptly taken. 

"Oh, well, if that's the way you look at it, Coogan, " I saidcarelessly, "it's all right. I thought it was agreed that we weren't toknow each other. "

This was a chance shot, but it hit. 

"Yes, yes, " said the detective, "I remember. But, you see, this isserious business. Here's a murder on our hands, and from all I canlearn it's on account of your confounded schemes. We've got to knowwhere we stand, or there will be the Old Nick to pay. The papers willget hold of it, and then--well, you remember that shake-up we had threeyears ago. "

"But you forget the 'old man, '" I returned. The name of that potentUnknown seemed to be my only weapon in the contest with DetectiveCoogan, and I thought this a time to try its force. 

"Not much, I don't!" said Coogan, visibly disturbed. "But if it comesto a choice, we'll have to risk a battle with him. "

"Well, maybe we're wasting time over a trifle, " said I, voicing myhope. "Perhaps your dead man belongs somewhere else. "

"Come along to the morgue, then, " said he. 

"Where was he found?" I asked as we walked out of the City Hall. 

"He was picked up at about three o'clock in the back room of theHurricane Deck--the water-front saloon, you know--near the foot ofFolsom Street. "

Detective Coogan asked a number of questions as we walked, and in a fewminutes we came to the undertaker's shop that served as the citymorgue. At the best of times it could not be a place of cheer. In thehour before daybreak, with the chill air of the morning almostsuppressing the yellow gaslights, the errand on which I had come madeit the abode of dread. Yet I hoped--hoped in such an agony of fear thatI became half-insensible to my surroundings. 

"Here it is, " said Coogan, opening a door. 

The low room was dark and chill and musty, but its details startedforth from the obscurity as he turned up the lights. 

Detective Coogan's words seemed to come from a great distance as hesaid: "Here, you see, he was stabbed. The knife went to the heart. Herehe was hit with something heavy and blunt; but it had enough of an edgeto cut the scalp and lay the cheek open. The skull is broken. See here--"

I summoned my resolution and looked. 

Disfigured and ghastly as it was, I recognized it. It was the face ofHenry Wilton. 

The next I knew I was sitting on a bench, and the detective was holdinga bottle to my lips. 

"There, take another swallow, " he said, not unkindly. "I didn't knowyou weren't used to it. "

"Oh, " I gasped, "I'm all right now. " And I was able to look steadily atthe gruesome surroundings and the dreadful burden on the slab. 

"Is this the man?" asked the detective. 

"Yes. "

"His name?"

"Dudley--James Dudley. " I was not quite willing to transfer the wholeof my identity to the dead, and changed the Giles to James. 

"Was he a relative?"

I shook my head, though I could not have said why I denied it. Then, inanswer to the detective's question, I told the story of the scuffle inthe alley, and of the events that followed. 

"Did you see any of the men? To recognize them, I mean?"

I described the leader as well as I was able--the man with the face ofthe wolf that I had seen in the lantern-flash. 

Detective Coogan lost his listless air, and looked at me inastonishment. 

"I don't see your game, Wilton, " he said. 

"I'm giving you the straight facts, " I said sullenly, a littledisturbed by his manner and tone. 

"Well, in that case, I'd expect you to keep the straight facts toyourself, my boy. "

It was my turn to be astonished. 

"Well, that's my lookout, " I said with assumed carelessness. 

"I don't see through you, " said the detective with some irritation. "Ifyou're playing with me to stop this inquiry by dragging in--well, weneedn't use names--you'll find yourself in the hottest water you everstruck. "

"You can do as you please, " I said coolly. 

The detective ripped out an oath. 

"If I knew you were lying, Wilton, I'd clap you in jail this minute. "

"Well, if you want to take the risks--" I said smiling. 

He looked at me for a full minute. 

"Candidly, I don't, and you know it, " he said. "But this is a stunneron me. What's your game, anyhow?"

I wished I knew. 

"So accomplished a detective should not be at a loss to answer sosimple a question. "

"Well, there's only one course open, as I see, " he said with a groan. "We've got to have a story ready for the papers and the coroner'sjury. "

This was a new suggestion for me and I was alarmed. 

"You can just forget your little tale about the row in the alley, " hecontinued. "There's nothing to show that it had anything to do withthis man here. Maybe it didn't happen. Anyhow, just think it was adream. This was a water-front row--tough saloon--killed and robbed byparties unknown. Maybe we'll have you before the coroner for theidentification, but maybe it's better not. "

I nodded assent. My mind was too numbed to suggest another course. 

The gray dawn was breaking through the chill fog, and people werestirring in the streets as Detective Coogan led the way out of themorgue. As we parted he gave me a curious look. 

"I suppose you know your own business, Wilton, " he said, "but I suspectyou'd be a sight safer if I'd clap you in jail. "

And with this consoling comment he was gone, and I was left in the dawnof my first morning in San Francisco, mind and body at the nadir ofdepression after the excitement and perils of the night. 

CHAPTER V

DODDRIDGE KNAPP

It was past ten o'clock of the morning when the remembrance of themysterious note I had received the preceding night came on me. I tookthe slip from my pocket, and read its contents once more:

"Don't make the change until I see you. The money will be ready in themorning. Be at the bank at 10:30. "

This was perplexing enough, but it furnished me with an idea. Of courseI could not take money intended for Henry Wilton. But here was thefirst chance to get at the heart of this dreadful business. The writerof the note, I must suppose, was the mysterious employer. If I couldsee her I could find the way of escape from the dangerous burden ofHenry Wilton's personality and mission. 

But which bank could be meant? The only names I knew were the Bank ofCalifornia, whose failure in the previous year had sent echoes eveninto my New England home, and the Anglo-Californian Bank, on which Iheld a draft. The former struck me as the more likely place ofappointment, and after some skilful navigating I found myself at thecorner of California and Sansome Streets, before the building throughwhich the wealth of an empire had flowed. 

I watched closely the crowd that passed in and out of the treasure-house, and assumed what I hoped was an air of prosperous indifferenceto my surroundings. 

No one appeared to notice me. There were eager men and cautious men, and men who looked secure and men who looked anxious, but neither mannor woman was looking for me. 

Plainly I had made a bad guess. A hasty walk through several otherbanks that I could see in the neighborhood gave no better result, and Ihad to acknowledge that this chance of penetrating the mystery wasgone. I speculated for the moment on what the effects might be. Toneglect an order of this kind might result in the withdrawal of theprotection that had saved my life, and in turning me over to themercies of the banditti who thought I knew something of the whereaboutsof a boy. 

As I reflected thus, I came upon a crowd massed about the steps of agreat granite building in Pine Street; a whirlpool of men, it seemed, with crosscurrents and eddies, and from the whole rose the murmur ofexcited voices. 

It was the Stock Exchange, the gamblers' paradise, in which millionswere staked, won and lost, and ruin and affluence walked side by side. As I watched the swaying, shouting mass with wonder and amusement, athrill shot through me. 

Upon the steps of the building, amid the crowd of brokers andspeculators, I saw a tall, broad-shouldered man of fifty or fifty-five, his face keen, shrewd and hard, broad at the temples and tapering to astrong jaw, a yellow-gray mustache and imperial half-hiding and half-revealing the firm lines of the mouth, with the mark of the wolf strongupon the whole. It was a face never to be forgotten as long as I shouldhold memory at all. It was the face I had seen twelve hours before inthe lantern flash in the dreadful alley, with the cry of murder ringingin my ears. Then it was lighted by the fierce fires of rage and hatred, and marked with the chagrin of baffled plans. Now it was cool, good-humored, alert for the battle of the Exchange that had already begun. But I knew it for the same, and was near crying aloud that here was amurderer. 

I clutched my nearest neighbor by the arm, and demanded to know who itwas. 

"Doddridge Knapp, " replied the man civilly. "He's running the Chollardeal now, and if I could only guess which side he's on, I'd make afortune in the next few days. He's the King of Pine Street. "

While I was looking at the King of the Street and listening to myneighbor's tales of his operations, Doddridge Knapp's eyes met mine. Tomy amazement there was a look of recognition in them. Yet he made nosign, and in a moment was gone. This, then, was the enemy I was tomeet! This was the explanation of Detective Coogan's hint that I shouldbe safer in jail than free on the streets to face this man's hatred orrevenge. 

I must have stood in a daze on the busy street, for I was roused bysome one shaking my arm with vigor. 

"Come! are you asleep?" said the man, speaking in my ear. "Can't youhear?"

"Yes, yes, " said I, rousing my attention. 

"The chief wants you. " His voice was low, almost a whisper. 

"The chief? Who? Where?" I asked. "At the City Hall?" I jumped to theconclusion that it was, of course, the chief of police, on the scent ofthe murder. 

"No. Of course not. In the second office, you know. "

This was scarcely enlightening. Doubtless, however, it was a summonsfrom my unknown employer. 

"I'll follow you, " said I promptly. 

"I don't think I'd better go, " said the messenger dubiously. "He didn'tsay anything about it, and you know he's rather--"

"Well, I order it, " I cut in decisively. "I may need you. "

I certainly needed him at that moment if I was to find my way. 

"Go ahead a few steps, " I said. 

My tone and manner impressed him, and he went without another word. Isauntered after him with as careless an air as I could assume. My heartwas beating fast. I felt that I was close to the mystery and that thenext half-hour would determine whether I was to take up Henry Wilton'swork or to find my way in safety back to my own name and person. 

My unconscious guide led the way along Montgomery Street into an officebuilding, up a flight of stairs, and into a back hallway. 

"Stay a moment, " I said, as he had his hand on the door knob. "Onsecond thoughts you can wait down stairs. "

He turned back, and as his footsteps echoed down the stair I opened thedoor and entered the office. 

As I crossed the threshold my heart gave a great bound, and I stoppedshort. Before me sat Doddridge Knapp, the King of the Street, the manfor whom above all others in the world I felt loathing and fear. 

Doddridge Knapp finished signing his name to a paper on his desk beforehe looked up. 

"Come in and sit down, " he said. The voice was alert and businesslike--the voice of a man accustomed to command. But I could find no trace offeeling in it, nothing that could tell me of the hatred or desperatepurpose that should inspire such a tragedy as I had witnessed, or warnme of danger to come. 

"Do you hear?" he said impatiently; "shut the door and sit down. Justspring that lock, will you? We might be interrupted. "

I was not at all certain that I should not wish very earnestly that hemight be interrupted in what Bret Harte would call the "subsequentproceedings. " But I followed his directions. 

Doddridge Knapp was not less impressive at close view than at longrange. The strong face grew stronger when seen from the near distance. 

"My dear Wilton, " he said, "I've come to a place where I've got totrust somebody, so I've come back to you. " The voice was oily andpersuasive, but the keen gray eyes shot out a glance from under thebushing eyebrows that thrilled me as a warning. 

"It's very kind of you, " I said, swallowing my astonishment with aneffort. 

"Well, " said Knapp, "the way you handled that Ophir matter wasperfectly satisfactory; but I'll tell you that it's on Mrs. Knapp'ssay-so, as much as on your own doings, that I select you for this job. "

"I'm much obliged to Mrs. Knapp, " I said politely. I was in deepwaters. It was plainly unsafe to do anything but drift. 

"Oh, you can settle that with her at your next call, " he said goodhumoredly. 

The jaded nerves of surprise refused to respond further. If I hadreceived a telegram informing me that the dispute over the presidencyhad been settled by shelving both Hayes and Tilden and giving theunanimous vote of the electors to me, I should have accepted it as amatter of course. I took my place unquestioningly as a valuedacquaintance of Doddridge Knapp's and a particular friend of Mrs. Knapp's. 

Yet it struck me as strange that the keen-eyed King of the Street hadfailed to discover that he was not talking to Henry Wilton, but to someone else who resembled him. There were enough differences in featuresand voice to distinguish us among intimate friends, though there werenot enough to be seen by casual acquaintances. I had the key in thenext sentence he spoke. 

"I have decided that it is better this time to do our business face toface. I don't want to trust messengers on this affair, and even ciphernotes are dangerous, --confoundedly dangerous. "

Then we had not been close acquaintances. 

"Oh, by the way, you have that other cipher yet, haven't you?" heasked. 

"No, I burnt it, " I said unblushingly. 

"That's right, " he said. "It was best not to take risks. Of course youunderstand that it won't do for us to be seen together. "

"Certainly not, " I assented. 

"I have arranged for another office. Here's the address. Yours is Room15. I have the key to 17, and 16 is vacant between with a 'To Let' signon it. They open into each other. You understand?"

"Perfectly, " I said. 

"You will be there by nine o'clock for your orders. If you get none bytwelve, there will be none for the day. "

"If I can't be there, I'll let you know. " I was off my guard for amoment, thinking of the possible demands of Henry's unknown employer. 

"You will do nothing of the kind, " said Doddridge Knapp shortly. Hisvoice, so smooth and businesslike a moment before, changed suddenly toa growl. His heavy eyebrows came down, and from under them flashed adangerous light. "You will be there when I tell you, young man, oryou'll have to reckon with another sort of customer than the one you'vebeen dealing with. This matter requires prompt and strict obedience toorders. One slip may ruin the whole plan. "

"You can depend on me, " I said with assumed confidence. "Am I to haveany discretion?"

"None whatever. "

I had thus far been able to get no hint of his purposes. If I had notknown what I knew, I should have supposed that his mind wasconcentrated on the apparent object before him--to secure the zeal andfidelity of an employee in some important business operation. 

"And what am I to do?" I asked. 

"Be a capitalist, " he said with an ironical smile. "Buy and sell what Itell you to buy and sell. Keep under cover, but not too much undercover. You can pick your own brokers. Better begin with Bockstein andEppner, though. Your checks will be honored at the Nevada Bank. Oh, here's a cipher, in case I want to write you. I suppose you'll wantsome ready money. "

Doddridge Knapp was certainly a liberal provider, for he shoved ahandful of twenty-dollar gold pieces across the desk in a way that mademy eyes open. 

"By the way, " he continued, "I don't think I have your signature, haveI?"

"No, sir, " I replied with prompt confidence. 

"Well, just write it on this slip then. I'll turn it into the bank foryour identification. You can take this check-book with you. "

"Anything more?"

"That's all, " he replied with a nod of dismissal. "Maybe it's to-morrow--maybe it's next month. "

And I walked out into Montgomery Street, bewildered among theconflicting mysteries in which I had been entangled. 

CHAPTER VI

A NIGHT AT BORTON'S

Room 15 was a plain, comfortable office in a plain, comfortablebuilding on Clay Street, not far from the heart of the businessdistrict. It was on the second floor, and its one window opened to therear, and faced a desolate assortment of back yards, rear walls, andrickety stairways. The floor had a worn carpet, and there was a desk, afew chairs and a shelf of law books. The place looked as though it hadbelonged to a lawyer in reduced circumstances, and I could but wonderhow it had come into the possession of Doddridge Knapp, and what hadbecome of its former occupant. 

I tried to thrust aside a spirit of melancholy, and looked narrowly tothe opportunities offered by the room for attack and defense. The wallswere solidly built. The window-casement showed an unusual depth for abuilding of that height. The wall had been put in to withstand anearthquake shock. The door opening into the hall, the door into Room16, and the window furnished the three avenues of possible attack orretreat. The window upon examination appeared impracticable. There wasa sheer drop of twenty feet, without a projection of any kind below it. The ledge was hardly an inch wide. The iron shutters by which it mightbe closed did not swing within ten feet of any other window. The onechance of getting in by this line was to drop a rope ladder from theroof. The door opening into Room 16 was not heavy, and the lock was acheap affair. A good kick would send the whole thing into splinters. Asit swung into Number 16 and not into my room it could not be bracedwith a barricade. Plainly it was not a good place to spend the nightshould Doddridge Knapp care to engineer another case of mysteriousdisappearance. 

The depression of spirits that progressed with my survey of the roomdeepened into gloom as I flung myself into the arm-chair before thedesk, and tried to plan some way out of the tangle in which I wasinvolved. How was I, single-handed, to contend against the power of therichest man in the city, and bring home to him the murder of HenryWilton? I could look for no assistance from the police. The words ofDetective Coogan were enough to show that only the most convincingproof of guilt, backed by fear of public sentiment, could bring thedepartment to raise a finger against him. And how could I hope to rousethat public sentiment? What would my word count against that of theKing of the Street?

Where was the motive for the crime? Until that was made clear I couldnot hope to piece together the scraps of evidence into a solidstructure of proof. And what motive could there be that would reconcilethe Doddridge Knapp who sought the life of Henry Wilton, with theDoddridge Knapp of this morning, who was ready to engage him in hisconfidential business? And had I the right to accept any part in hisbusiness? It had the flavor of treachery about it; yet it seemed theonly possible chance to come upon the secret springs of his acts, tocome in touch with the tools and accomplices in his crime. And theunknown mission, that had brought Henry to his death? How was I to playhis part in that? And even if I could take his place, how was I toserve the mysterious employer and Doddridge Knapp at the same time, when Doddridge Knapp was ready to murder me to gain the Unknown'ssecret. 

Fatigue and loss of sleep deepened the dejection of mind that oppressedme with these insistent questions, and as I vainly struggled againstit, carried me at last into the oblivion of dreamless slumber. 

The next I knew I was awaking to the sound of breaking glass. It wasdark but for a feeble light that came from the window. Every bone in mybody ached from the cramped position in which I had slept, and itseemed an age before I could rouse myself to act. It was, however, buta second before I was on my feet, revolver in hand, with the deskbetween me and a possible assailant. 

Silence, threatening, oppressive, surrounded me as I stood listening, watching, for the next move. Then I heard a low chuckle, as of some onestruggling to restrain his laughter; and so far from sympathizing withhis mirth, I was tempted to try the effect of a shot as an assistancein suppressing it. 

"I thought the transom was open, " said a low voice, which still seemedto be struggling with suppressed laughter. 

"I guess it woke him up, " said another and harsher voice. "I heard anoise in there. "

"You're certain he's there?" asked the first voice with anotherchuckle. 

"Sure, Dicky. I saw him go in, and Porter and I have taken turns onwatch ever since. "

"Well, it's time he came out, " said Dicky. "He can't be asleep afterthat racket. Say!" he called, "Harry! What's the matter with you? Ifyou're dead let us know. "

They appeared friendly, but I hesitated in framing an answer. 

"We'll have to break down the door, I guess, " said Dicky. "Somethingmust have happened. " And a resounding kick shook the panel. 

"Hold on!" I cried. "What's wanted?"

"Oh, " said Dicky sarcastically. "You've come to life again, have you. "

"Well, I'm not dead yet. "

"Then strike a light and let us in. And take a look at that reminderyou'll find wrapped around the rock I heaved through the transom. Ithought it was open. " And Dicky went off into another series ofchuckles in appreciation of his mistake. 

"All right, " I said. I was not entirely trustful, and after I hadlighted the gas-jet I picked up the stone that lay among the fragmentsof glass, and unwrapped the paper. The sheet bore only the words:

 "At Borton's, at midnight. Richmond. "

This was the name of the agent of the Unknown, who had sent the othernote. Dicky and his companion must then be protectors instead ofenemies. I hastened to unlock the door, and in walked my two visitors. 

The first was a young man, tall, well-made, with a shrewd, good-humoredcountenance, and a ready, confident air about him. I had no trouble inpicking him out as the amused Dicky. The other was a black-beardedgiant, who followed stolidly in the wake of the younger man. 

"You've led me a pretty chase, " said Dicky. "If it hadn't been for PorkChops here, I shouldn't have found you till the cows come home. "

"Well, what's up now?" I asked. 

"Why, you ought to know, " said Dicky with evident surprise. "But you'dbetter be hurrying down to Borton's. The gang must be there by now. "

I could only wonder who Borton might be, and where his place was, andwhat connection he might have with the mystery, as Dicky took me by thearm and hurried me out into the darkness. The chill night air served tonerve instead of depress my spirits, as the garrulous Dickyunconsciously guided me to the meeting-place, joyously narrating someamusing adventure of the day, while the heavy retainer stalked insilence behind. 

Down near the foot of Jackson Street, where the smell of bilge-waterand the wash of the sewers grew stronger, and the masts of vesselscould just be seen in the darkness outlined against the sky, Dickysuddenly stopped and drew me into a doorway. Our retainer disappearedat the same instant, and the street was apparently deserted. Then outof the night the shape of a man approached with silent steps. 

"Five-sixteen, " croaked Dicky. 

The man gave a visible start. 

"Sixteen-five, " he croaked in return. 

"Any signs?" whispered Dicky. 

"Six men went up stairs across the street. Every one of them did thesailor-drunk act. "

"Sure they weren't sailors?"

"Well, when six coves goes up the same stairs trying the same dodge, all inside of ten minutes, I has a right to my suspicions. And DarbyMeeker ain't been to sea yet that I knows on. "

"Darby Meeker!" exclaimed Dicky in a whisper. And he drew a whistleunder his breath. "What do you think of that, Wilton? I had no idea hewas back from that wild-goose chase you sent him on. "

"It looks bad, " I admitted cautiously. "I dare say he isn't in goodtemper. "

"You'll have to settle with him for that piece of business, " said Dickywith a chuckle. 

I failed to see the amusing side of the prospect. I wished I knew whatMr. Meeker looked like. 

The guard had melted away into the darkness without another word, andwe hurried forward with due caution. Just past the next corner was alighted room, and the sound of voices broke the quiet. A triangularglass lantern projected from above the door, and such of the paint ashad not weathered away made the announcement:

[Illustration: BORTON'S Meals Liquors Lodgings]

We pushed open the door and walked in. The room was large and dingy, the ceiling low. Tables were scattered about the sanded floor. A bartook up the side of the room next the entrance, and a general air ofdisreputability filled the place. The only attempts at ornament, unlessthe arrangement of various-colored bottles behind the bar came underthat head, were the circles and festoons of dirty cut paper hangingfrom the ceiling. 

About the room, some at the tables, some at the bar, were numbers ofstout, rough-looking men, with a few Greek fishermen and two or threesailors. 

Behind the bar sat a woman whose appearance in that place almoststartled me. She might have been nearing seventy, and a hard and evillife had left its marks on her bent frame and her gaunt face. Herleathery cheeks were lined deep, and a hawk-like nose emphasized theunpleasant suggestions conveyed by her face and figure. But the mostremarkable feature about her was her eyes. There was no trace of age inthem. Bright and keen as the eyes of a rat, they gave me an unpleasantthrill as I felt her gaze fixed upon me when I entered the door, arm inarm with Dicky. It was as though they had pierced me through, and hadlaid bare something I would have concealed. It was a relief to passbeyond her into a recessed part of the room where her gaze might wasteitself on the back of my head. 

"Mother Borton's up late to-night, " said Dicky thoughtfully, as heordered wine. 

"You can't blame her for thinking that this crowd needs watching, " Isuggested with as much of airiness as I could throw into my manner. 

Dicky shook his head for a second, and then resumed his light-hearted, bantering way. Yet I could see that he was perplexed and anxious aboutsomething that had come to his attention on our arrival. 

"You'll not want to attend to business till all the boys are here?"asked Dicky. 

"Not unless there's something to be done, " I responded dryly. 

Dicky gave me a quick glance. 

"Of course, " he said with a laugh that was not quite easy, "not unlessthere's something to be done. But I thought there was something. "

"You've got a fine mind for thinking, Dicky, " I replied. "You'd bettercultivate it. "

"Well, they say there's nothing like society for that sort ofcultivation, " said Dicky with another laugh. "They don't say what kind, but I've got a pretty good stock here to choose from. " He was at hisease in banter again, but it struck unpleasantly on me that there wassomething behind. 

"Oh, here's a queer friend, " he said suddenly, looking to the door. "I'd better speak to him on the matter of countersigns. "

"By all means, " I said, turning in my chair to survey the new-comer. 

I saw the face for an instant. The man wore a sou'wester, and he haddrawn his thick, rough coat up as though he would hide his head underthe collar. Cheek and chin I could see were covered by a thick blondbeard. His movements were apparently clumsy, but his figure was litheand sinuous. And his eyes! Once seen they never could be forgotten. Attheir glance, beard and sou'wester dropped away before my fancy, and Isaw in my inner vision the man of the serpent glance who had chilled myspirit when I had first put foot in the city. It flashed on me in aninstant that this was the same man disguised, who had ventured into themidst of his enemies to see what he might learn of their plans. 

As I watched Dicky advance and greet the new-comer with apparentinquiry, a low harsh voice behind gave me a start of surprise. 

"This is your wine, I think, "--and a lean, wrinkled arm passed over myshoulder, and a wrinkled face came near my own. 

I turned quickly. It was Mother Borton, leering at me with no apparentinterest but in her errand. 

"What are you doing here?" asked the crone in a voice still lower. "You're not the one they take you to be, but you're none the less indanger. What are you doing with his looks, and in this place? Look outfor that man you're with, and the other. Yes, sir, " her voice rose. "Asmall bottle of the white; in a minute, sir. "

I understood her as Dicky and the new-comer came to the table and tookseats opposite. I commanded my face to give no sign of suspicion, butthe warning put me on the alert. I had come on the supposition that Iwas to meet the band to which Henry Wilton belonged. Instead of beingamong friends, however, it seemed now that I was among enemies. 

"It's all right, " said Dicky carelessly. "He's been sent. "

"That's lucky, " said I with equal unconcern. "We may need an extra handbefore morning. "

The new-comer could not repress a triumphant flash in the serpent eyes. 

"I'm the one for your job, " he said hoarsely, his face as impassive asa stone wall. 

"What do you know about the job?" I asked suspiciously. 

"Only what I've been told, " he answered. 

"And that is--"

"That it's a job for silence, secrecy, and--"

"Spondulicks, " said Dicky with a laugh, as the other hesitated for aword. 

"Just so, " said the man. 

"And what else?" I continued, pressing him firmly. 

"Well, " he admitted hoarsely, "I learned as how there was to be achange of place to-night, and I might be needed. "

I looked at him inquiringly. Perhaps I was on the threshold ofknowledge of this cursed business from the mouth of the enemy. 

"I heard as how the boy was to be put in a safer place, " he said, wagging his head with affected gravity. 

Some imp put it into my brain to try him with an unexpected bit ofnews. 

"Oh, " I said coolly, "that's all attended to. The change was madeyesterday. "

The effect of this announcement was extraordinary. The man started withan oath. 

"The hell you say!" he exclaimed in a low, smooth voice, far differentfrom the harsh tone he had used thus far. Then he leaped to his feet, with uncontrollable rage. 

"Tricked--by God!" he shouted impulsively, and smote the table with hisfist. 

His outburst threw the room into confusion. Men sprang from theirchairs. Glasses and bottles fell with clinking crash. Oaths and shoutsarose from the crowd. 

"Damn you, I'll have it out of you!" said the man with suppressed fury, his voice once again smooth and low. "Where is the boy?"

He smote the table again; and with that stroke the false beard fellfrom his chin and cheek, and exposed the malignant face, distorted withrage. A feeling of horrible repulsion came over me, and I should havestruck at that serpent's head but for a startling occurrence. As hespoke, a wild scream rose upon the air, and as it echoed through theroom the lights went out. 

The scream was repeated, and after an instant's silence there rose achorus of shouts and oaths, mingled with the crash of tables and theclink of breaking glass and crockery, as the men in the room foughttheir way to the door. 

"Oh, my God, I'm cut!" came in a shriek out of the darkness and clamor;and there followed the flash of a pistol and a report that boomed likea cannon in that confined place. 

My eyes had not been idle after the warning of Mother Borton, and in aninstant I had decided what to do. I had figured out what I conceived tobe the plan of the house, and thought I knew a way of escape. Therewere two doors at the rear of the room, and facing me. One led, as Iknew, to the kitchen; the other opened, I reasoned, on a stair to thelodging-rooms above. 

Before the scream that accompanied the extinction of the lights haddied away, I had made a dive beneath the table, and, lifting with allmy might, had sent it crashing over with my enemy under it. With oneleap I cleared the remaining table that lay between me and the door. And with the clamor behind me, I turned the knob and bounded up thestairs, three steps at a time. 

CHAPTER VII

MOTHER BORTON

The noise of the struggle below continued. Yells and curses rose fromthe maddened men. Three shots were fired in quick succession, and a cryof "Oh, my Lord!" penetrated through the closed door with the sound ofone sorely hurt. 

I lingered for a little, listening to the tumult. I was in a strangeand dangerous position. Enemies were behind me. There were friends, too, but I knew no way to tell one from the other, and my ignorance hadnearly brought me to my death. I hesitated to move, but I could notremain in the open hall; and as the sounds of disturbance from belowsubsided, I felt my way along the wall and moved cautiously forward. 

I had progressed perhaps twenty steps when a door, against which myhand pressed, yielded at the touch and swung slowly open. I strove tostop it, for the first opening showed a dim light within. But the panelgave no hold for my fingers, and my efforts to close the door onlyswung it open the faster. I drew back a little into the shadow, for Ihesitated to dash past the sight of any who might occupy the room. 

"Come in!" called a harsh voice. 

I hesitated. Behind, the road led to the eating-room with its knowndangers. A dash along the hall for the front door meant the raising ofan alarm, and probably a bullet as a discourager of burglary. Should Iescape this, I could be certain of a warm reception from the enemies onwatch outside. Prudence lay in facing the one rather than risking themany. I accepted the invitation and walked into the room. 

"I was expecting you, " said the harsh voice composedly. "Good evening. "

"Good evening, " I returned gravely, swallowing my amazement as best Icould. 

By the table before me sat Mother Borton, contemplating me as calmly asthough this meeting were the most commonplace thing in the world. Acandle furnished a dim, flickering light that gave to her hard wickedcountenance a diabolic leer that struck a chill to my blood. 

"Excuse me, " I said, "I have lost my way, I fear. "

"Not at all, " said Mother Borton. "You are in the right place. "

"I was afraid I had intruded, " I said apologetically. 

"I expected you, " she repeated. "Shut the door. "

I glanced about the room. There was no sign of another person to beseen, and no other door. I obeyed her. 

"You might as well sit down, " she said with some petulance. "There'snothing up here to hurt you. " There was so much meaning in her tone ofthe things that would hurt me on the floor below that I hastened toshow my confidence in her, and drew up a chair to the table. 

"At your service, " I said, leaning before her with as much anappearance of jaunty self-possession as I could muster. 

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she asked grimly. 

What should I answer? Could I tell her the truth? "Who are you?" sherepeated impatiently, gazing on me. "You are not Wilton. Tell me. Whoare you?"

The face, hard as it was, seamed with the record of a rough and evillife, as it appeared, had yet a kindly look as it was turned on me. 

"My name is Dudley, --Giles Dudley. "

"Where is Wilton?"

"Dead. "

"Dead? Did you kill him?" The half-kindly look disappeared from hereyes, and the hard lines settled into an expression of malevolentrepulsiveness. 

"He was my best friend, " I said sadly; and then I described the leadingevents of the tragedy I had witnessed. 

The old woman listened closely, and with hardly the movement of amuscle, to the tale I told. 

"And you think he left his job to you?" she said with a sneer. 

"I have taken it up as well as I can. To be frank with you, Mrs. Borton, I know nothing about his job. I'm going along on blind chance, and trying to keep a whole skin. "

The old woman looked at me in amazement. 

"Poor boy!" she exclaimed half-pityingly, half-admiringly. "You putyour hands to a job you know nothing about, when Henry Wilton couldn'tcarry it with all his wits about him. "

"I didn't do it, " said I sullenly. "It has done itself. Everybodyinsists that I'm Wilton. If I'm to have my throat slit for him I mightas well try to do his work. I wish to Heaven I knew what it was, though. "

Mother Borton leaned her head on her hand, and gazed on me thoughtfullyfor a full minute. 

"Young man, " said she impressively, "take my advice. There's a trainfor the East in the mornin'. Just git on board, and never you stopshort of Chicago. "

"I'm not running away, " said I bitterly. "I've got a score to settlewith the man who killed Henry Wilton. When that score is settled, I'llgo to Chicago or anywhere else. Until that's done, I stay where I cansettle it. "

Mother Borton caught up the candle and moved it back and forth beforemy face. In her eyes there was a gleam of savage pleasure. 

"By God, he's in earnest!" she said to herself, with a strange laugh. "Tell me again of the man you saw in the alley. "

I described Doddridge Knapp. 

"And you are going to get even with _him_?" she said with achuckle that had no mirth in it. 

"Yes, " said I shortly. 

"Why, if you should touch him the people of the city would tear you topieces. "

"I shall not touch him. I'm no assassin!" I exclaimed indignantly. "Thelaw shall take him, and I'll see him hanged as high as Haman. "

Mother Borton gave a low gurgling laugh. 

"The law! oh, my liver, --the law! How young you are, my boy! Oh, ho, ohho!" And again she absorbed her mirthless laugh, and gave me an evilgrin. Then she became grave again, and laid a claw on my sleeve. "Takemy advice now, and git on the train. "

"Not I!" I returned stoutly. 

"I'm doing it for your own good, " she said, with as near an approach toa coaxing tone as she could command. It was long since she had used hervoice for such a purpose and it grated. "For my sake I'd like to seeyou go on and wipe out the whole raft of 'em. But I know what'll happento ye, honey. I've took a fancy to ye. I don't know why. But there's alook on your face that carries me back for forty years, and--don't tryit, dearie. "

There were actually tears in the creature's eyes, and her hard, wickedface softened, and became almost tender and womanly. 

"I can't give up, " I said. "The work is put on me. But can't you helpme? I believe you want to. I trust you. Tell me what to do--where Istand. I'm all in the dark, but I must do my work. " It was the bestappeal I could have made. 

"You're right, " she said. "I'm an old fool, and you've got the realsand. You're the first one except Henry Wilton that's trusted me inforty years, and you won't be sorry for it, my boy. You owe me one, now. Where would you have been to-night if I hadn't had the lightdoused on ye?"

"Oh, that was your doing, was it? I thought my time had come. "

"Oh, I was sure you'd know what to do. It was your best chance. "

"Then will you help me, now?" The old crone considered, and her facegrew sharp and cunning in its look. 

"What can I do?"

"Tell me, in God's name, where I stand. What is this dreadful mystery?Who is this boy? Why is he hidden, and why do these people want to knowwhere he is? Who is behind me, and who threatens me with death?"

I burst out with these questions passionately, almost frantically. Thiswas the first time I had had chance to demand them of another humanbeing. 

Mother Borton gave me a leer. 

"I wish I could tell you, my dear, but I don't know. "

"You mean you dare not tell me, " I said boldly. "You have done me agreat service, but if I am to save myself from the dangers thatsurround me I must know more. Can't you see that?"

"Yes, " she nodded. "You're in a hard row of stumps, young man. "

"And you can help me. "

"Well, I will, " she said, suddenly softening again. "I took a shine toyou when you came in, an' I says to myself, 'I'll save that youngfellow, ' an' I done it. And I'll do more. Mr. Wilton was a finegentleman, an' I'd do something, if I could, to git even with thosemurderin' gutter-pickers that laid him out on a slab. "

She hesitated, and looked around at the shadows thrown by theflickering candle. 

"Well?" I said impatiently. "Who is the boy, and where is he?"

"Never you mind that, young fellow. Let me tell you what I know. Thenmaybe we'll have time to go into the things I don't know. "

It was of no use to urge her. I bowed my assent to her terms. 

"I'll name no names, " she said. "My throat can be cut as quick asyours, and maybe a damned sight quicker. "

Mother Borton had among her failings a weakness for profanity. I haveomitted most of her references to sacred and other subjects of the kindin transcribing her remarks. 

"The ones that has the boy means all right. They're rich. The ones asis looking for the boy is all wrong. They'll be rich if they gits him. "

"How?"

"Why, I don't know, " said Mother Borton. "I'm tellin' you what HenryWilton told me. "

This was maddening. I began to suspect that she knew nothing after all. 

"Do you know where he is?" I asked, taking the questioning into my ownhands. 

"No, "--sullenly. 

"Who is protecting him?"

"I don't know. "

"Who is trying to get him?"

"It's that snake-eyed Tom Terrill that's leading the hunt, along withDarby Meeker; but they ain't doing it for themselves. "

"Is Doddridge Knapp behind them?"

The old woman looked at me suddenly in wild-eyed alarm. 

"S-s-h!" she whispered. "Don't name no names. "

"But I saw--"

She put her hand over my mouth. 

"He's in it somewhere, or the devil is, but I don't know where. He's anawful man. He's everywhere at once. He's--oh Lord! What was that?"

I had become infected with her nervousness, and at a cracking orcreaking sound turned around with half an expectation of seeingDoddridge Knapp himself coming in the door. 

There was no one there--nothing to be seen but the flickering shadows, and no sound broke the stillness as we listened. 

"It's nothing, " I said. 

"I reckon I ain't got no call to be scared at any crackings in this oldhouse, " said Mother Borton with a nervous giggle. "I've hearn 'em longenough. But that man's name gives me the shivers. "

"What did he ever do to you?" I asked with some curiosity. 

"He never did nothing, " she said, "but I hearn tell dreadful thingsthat's gone on of nights, --how Doddridge Knapp or his ghost was seenkilling a Chinaman over at North Beach, while Doddridge Knapp or hisghost, --whichever was the other one, --was speaking at a meeting, at thePavilion. And I hearn of his drinkin' blood--"

"Nonsense!" said I; "where did you get such stories?"

"Well, they're told me for true, and by ones I believe, " she saidstoutly. "Oh, there's queer things goes on. Doddridge Knapp or thedevil, it's all one. But it's ill saying things of them that can be intwo places at once. " And the old dame looked nervously about her. "They've hushed things up in the papers, and fixed the police, butpeople have tongues. "

I wondered what mystification had given rise to these absurd reports, but there was nothing to be gained by pursuing them. The killing of theChinaman might have been something to my hand, but if Doddridge Knapphad such a perfect alibi it was a waste of time to look into it. 

"And is this all you know?" I asked in disappointment. 

Mother Borton tried to remember some other point. 

"I don't see how it's going to keep a knife from between my ribs, " Icomplained. 

"You keep out of the way of Tom Terrill and his hounds, and you'll beall right, I reckon. "

"Am I supposed to be the head man in this business?"

"Yes. "

"Who are my men?"

"There's Wilson and Fitzhugh and Porter and Brown, " and she named tenor a dozen more. 

"And what is Dicky?"

"It's a smart man as can put his finger on Dicky Nahl, " said MotherBorton spitefully. 

"Nahl is his name?"

"Yes. And I've seen him hobnob with Henry Wilton, and I've seen himthick as thieves with Tom Terrill, and which he's thickest with thedevil himself couldn't tell. I call him Slippery Dicky. "

"Why did he bring me here to-night?"

"I hearn there's orders come to change the place--the boy's place, youknow. You was to tell 'em where the new one was to be, I reckon, butTom Terrill spoiled things. He's lightning, is Tom Terrill. But I guesshe got it all out of Dicky, though where Dicky got it the Lord onlyknows. "

This was all that was to be had from Mother Borton. Either she knew nomore, or she was sharp enough to hide a knowledge that might bedangerous, even fatal, to reveal. She was willing to serve me, and Iwas forced to let it pass that she knew no more. 

"Well, I'd better be going then, " said I at last. "It's nearly fouro'clock, and everything seems to be quiet hereabouts. I'll find my wayto my room. "

"You'll do no such thing, " said Mother Borton. "They've not given upthe chase yet. Your men have gone home, I reckon, but I'll bet thesaloon that you'd have a surprise before you got to the corner. "

"Not a pleasant prospect, " said I grimly. 

"No. You must stay here. The room next to this one is just the thingfor you. See?"

She drew me into the adjoining room, shading the candle as we passedthrough the hall that no gleam might fall where it would attractattention. 

"You'll be safe here, " she said. "Now do as I say. Go to sleep and gitsome rest. You ain't had much, I guess, since you got to SanFrancisco. "

The room was cheerless, but in the circumstances the advice appearedgood. I was probably safer here than in the street, and I needed therest. 

"Good night, " said my strange protectress, "You needn't git up till yougit ready. This is a beautiful room--beautiful. I call it our bridalchamber, though we don't get no brides down here. There won't be no sunto bother your eyes in the mornin', for that window don't open upoutside. So there, can't nobody git in unless he comes from inside thehouse. There, git to bed. Look out you don't set fire to nothing. Andput out the candle. Now good night, dearie. "

Mother Borton closed the door behind her, and left me to the shadows. 

Her departure did not leave me wholly at my ease. I had escaped from myfoes, but I was no closer to being in touch with those who would be myfriends; and before daylight I might be lying here with my throat slit. At the reflection I hastily bolted the door, and tried the fasteningsof the window. All seemed secure, but the sound of a footstep in thepassageway gave me a start for an instant. 

"Only Mother Borton going down stairs, " I thought, with a smile at myfears. 

There was nothing to be gained by sitting up, and the candle was pastits final inch. I felt that I could not sleep, but I would lie down onthe bed and rest my tired limbs, that I might refresh myself for thedemands of the day. I kicked off my boots, put my revolver under myhand, and lay down. 

Heedless of Mother Borton's warning I left the candle to burn to thesocket, and watched the flickering shadows chase each other over wallsand ceiling. The shadows grew larger and blacker, and took fantasticshapes of men and beasts. And then with a confused impression of deadlyfear and of an effort to escape from peril, a blacker shadow swallowedup all that had gone before, and carried me with it. 

CHAPTER VIII

IN WHICH I MEET A FEW SURPRISES

I awoke with the sense of threatened danger strong in my mind. For amoment I was unable to recall where I was, or on what errand I hadcome. Then memory returned in a flood, and I sprang from the bed andpeered about me. 

A dim light struggled in from the darkened window, but no cause forapprehension could be seen. I was the only creature that breathed theair of that bleak and dingy room. 

I drew aside the curtain, and threw up the window. It opened merely ona light-well, and the blank walls beyond gave back the cheeryreflection of a patch of sunlight that fell at an angle from above. 

The fresher air that crept in from the window cleared my mind, a dashof water refreshed my body, and I was ready once more to face whatevermight befall. 

I looked at my watch. It was eight o'clock, and I had slept four hoursin this place. Truly I had been imprudent after my adventure below, butI had been right in trusting Mother Borton. Then I began to realizethat I was outrageously hungry, and I remembered that I should be atthe office by nine to receive the commands of Doddridge Knapp, shouldhe choose to send them. 

I threw back the bolt, but when I tried to swing the door open itresisted my efforts. The key had been missing when I closed it, but asliding bolt had fastened it securely. Now I saw that the door waslocked. 

Here was a strange predicament. I had heard nothing of the noise of thekey before I lost myself in slumber. Mother Borton must have turned itas an additional precaution as I slept. But how was I to get out? Ihesitated to make a noise that could attract attention. It might bringsome one less kindly disposed than my hostess of the night. But therewas no other way. I was trapped, and must take the risk of summoningassistance. 

I rapped on the panel and listened. No sound rewarded me. I rappedagain more vigorously, but only silence followed. The house might havebeen the grave for all the signs of life it gave back. 

There was something ominous about it. To be locked, thus, in a darkroom of this house in which I had already been attacked, was enough toshake my spirit and resolution for the moment. What lay without thedoor, my apprehension asked me. Was it part of the plot to get thesecret it was supposed I held? Had Mother Borton been murdered, and thehouse seized? Or had Mother Borton played me false, and was I now aprisoner to my own party for my enforced imposture, as one who knew toomuch to be left at large and too little to be of use? On a second andcalmer thought it was evidently folly to bring my jailers about myears, if jailers there were. I abandoned my half-formed plan ofbreaking down the door, and turned to the window and the light-well. Another window faced on the same space, not five feet away. If it werebut opened I might swing myself over and through it; but it was closed, and a curtain hid the unknown possibilities and dangers of theinterior. A dozen feet above was the roof, with no projection orfoothold by which it might be reached. Below, the light-well ended in atinned floor, about four feet from the window sill. 

I swung myself down, and with two steps was trying the other window. Itwas unlocked. I raised the sash cautiously, but its creaking protestseemed to my excited ears to be loud enough to wake any but the dead. Istopped and listened after each squeak of the frame. There was no signof movement. 

Then I pushed aside the curtain cautiously, and looked within. The roomappeared absolutely bare. Gaining confidence at the sight, I threw thecurtain farther back, and with a bound climbed in, revolver in hand. 

A scurrying sound startled me for an instant, and with a scramble Igained my feet, prepared to face whatever was before me. Then I saw thedisappearing form of a great rat, and laughed at my fears. 

The room was, as I had thought, bare and deserted. There was a mustysmell about it, as though it had not been opened for a long time, anddust and desolation lay heavy upon it. A dark stain on the floor nearthe window suggested to my fancy the idea of blood. Had some wayfarerless fortunate than I been inveigled to his death in this evil place?

There was, however, nothing here to linger for, and I hastened to trythe door. It was locked. I stooped to examine the fastening. It was ofthe cheapest kind, attached to door and casement by small screws. Witha good wrench it gave way, and I found myself in a dark side-hallbetween two rooms. Three steps brought me to the main hall, and Irecognized it for the same through which I had felt my way in thedarkness of the night. It was not improved by the daylight, and astrange loneliness about it was an oppression to the spirits. Therewere six or eight rooms on the floor, and the doors gloweredthreateningly on me, as though they were conscious that I was anintruder in fear of his life. 

The intense stillness within the house, instead of reassuring me, served as a threat. After my experience of the night, it spoke oftreachery, not of peace. 

I took my steps cautiously down the stairs, following the way that ledto the side entrance. The saloon and restaurant room I was anxious toevade, for there would doubtless be a barkeeper and several loiterersabout. It could not be avoided, however. As I neared the bottom of thestairs, I saw that a door led from the hallway to the saloon, and thatit was open. 

I moved slowly down, a step at a time, then from over-cautiousnesstripped and came down the last three steps at once with the clatter ofa four-horse team. 

But nobody stirred. Then I glanced through the open door, and wasstricken cold with astonishment. The room was empty!

The chairs and tables that a few hours ago I had seen scattered aboutwere gone. There was no sign that the place had been occupied inmonths. 

I stepped into the room that I had seen crowded with eager friends andenemies, eating, drinking, ready for desperate deeds. My step echoedstrangely with the echo of an untenanted house. The bar and the shelvesbehind it were swept clear of the bottles and glasses that had filledthem. Dust was thick over the floor and walls. The windows were stainedand dirty, and a paper sign on each pane informed the passers-by thatthe house was "To Let. "

Bewildered and apprehensive, I wondered whether, after all, the eventsof the night, the summons from Dicky Nahl, the walk in the darkness, the scene in the saloon, the encounter with the snake-eyed man, theriot, the rush up the dark stair, and the interview with the old crone, were not a fantastic vision from the land of dreams. 

I looked cautiously through the other rooms on the first floor. Theywere as bare as the main room. The only room in the whole house thatheld a trace of furniture or occupancy must be the one from which I hadescaped. It seemed that an elaborate trap had been set for my benefitwith such precautions that I could not prove that it ever had been. 

There was, however, no time to waste in prying into this mystery. By mywatch it was close on nine o'clock, and Doddridge Knapp might even nowbe making his way to the office where he had stationed me. 

The saloon's front doors were locked fast, but the side door that ledfrom the stairway to the street was fastened only with a spring lock, and I swung it open and stepped to the sidewalk. 

A load left my spirits as the door closed behind me. The fresh air ofthe morning was like wine after the close and musty atmosphere I hadbeen breathing. 

The street was but a prosaic place after the haunt of mystery I hadjust left. It was like stepping from the Dark Ages into the nineteenthcentury. Yet there was something puzzling about it. The street had nosuggestion of the familiar, and it appeared somehow to have been turnedend for end. I had lost my sense of direction. The hills were where thebay ought to be. I seemed to have changed sides of the street, and ittook me a little time to readjust the points of the compass. I reasonedat last that Dicky Nahl had led me to the street below before turningto the place, and I had not noticed that we had doubled on our course. 

I hurried along the streets with but a three-minute stop to swallow acup of coffee and a roll, and once more mounted the stairs to theoffice and opened the door to Number 15. 

The place was in disorder. The books that had been arranged on the deskand shelves were now scattered about in confusion, as though they hadbeen hurriedly examined and thrown aside in a fruitless search. Thiswas a disturbing incident, and I was surprised to discover that thedoor into the adjoining room was ajar. I pushed it wide open, andstarted back. Before me stood Doddridge Knapp, his face pale as theface of a corpse, and his eyes starting as though the dead had risenbefore him. 

CHAPTER IX

A DAY IN THE MARKET

The King of the Street stood for a moment staring at me with thatstrange and fearsome gaze. What was there in that dynamic glance thatstruck a chill to my spirit as though the very fountain of life hadbeen attacked? Was it the manifestation of the powerful will behindthat mask? Or was it terror or anger that was to be read in the fieryeyes that gleamed from beneath those bushy brows, and in the play ofthe cruel mouth, which from under that yellow-gray mustache gave backthe sign of the Wolf?

"Have you any orders, sir?" I asked in as calm a voice as I couldcommand. 

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said the Wolf slowly, covering his fangs. 

It flashed on me that the attack in the Borton den was of his planning, that Terrill was his tool, and that he had supposed me dead. It wasthus that I could account for his startled gaze and evidentdiscomposure. 

"Nine o'clock was the time, you said, " I suggested deferentially. "Ibelieve it's a minute or two past. "

"Oh, yes, " said Doddridge Knapp, pulling himself together. "Come inhere. "

He looked suspiciously at me as he took a seat at his desk, andmotioned me to another. 

"I had a little turn, " he said, eying me nervously; "a vertigo, Ibelieve the doctor called it. Just reach my overcoat pocket there, willyou?--the left-hand side. Yes, bring me that flask. "

He poured out a small glass of liquor, and the rich odor of brandy rosethrough the room. Then he took a vial from an inside pocket, counted afew drops into the glass, and drank it at a swallow. 

I marveled at the actions of the man, and wondered if he was nervinghimself to some deed that he lacked courage to perform. 

When he had cleared his throat of the fiery liquor, the Wolf turned tome with a more composed and kindly expression. 

"I never drink during business hours, " he said with a trace of apologyin his tone. "It's bad for business, and for the drink, too. But thisis a little trouble I've had a touch of in the last two months. Justremember, young man, that I expect you to do your drinking afterbusiness is over--and not too much then. And now to business, " said myemployer with decision. "Take down these orders. "

The King of the Street was himself once more, and I marveled again atthe quickness and clearness of his directions. I was to buy one hundredshares of this stock, sell five hundred of that stock, buy one thousandof another in blocks of one hundred, and sell the same in a singleblock at the last session. 

"And the last thing you do, " he continued, "buy every share of Omegathat is offered. There'll be a big block of it thrown on the market, and more in the afternoon. Buy it, whatever the price. There's likelyto be a big slump. Don't bid for it--don't keep up the price, youunderstand--but get it. "

"If somebody else is snapping it up, do I understand that I'm not tobid over them?"

"You're not to understand anything of the kind, " he said, with a littledisgust in his tone. "You're to get the stock. You've bought and soldenough to know how to do that. But don't start a boom for the price. Let her go down. Sabe?"

I felt that there was deep water ahead. 

"Perfectly, " I said. "I think I see the whole thing. "

The King of the Street looked at me with a grim smile. 

"Maybe you do, but all the same you'd better keep your money out ofthis little deal unless you can spare it as well as not. Well, get backto your room. You've got your check-book all right?"

Alone once more I was in despair of unraveling the tangle in which Iwas involved. I felt convinced that Doddridge Knapp was the mover inthe plots that sought my life. He had, I felt sure, believed me dead, and was startled into fear at my unheralded appearance. Yet why shouldhe trust me with his business? I could not doubt that the buying andselling he had given to my care were important. I knew nothing aboutthe price of stocks but I was sure that the orders he had given meinvolved many thousands of dollars. Yet it might be--the thought struckhome to me--that the credit had not been provided for me, and my checkson the Nevada Bank would serve only to land me in jail. 

The disturbed condition of the books attracted my attention once more. The volumes were scattered over the desk and thrown about the room asthough somebody had been seeking for a mislaid document. I lookedcuriously over them as I replaced them on the shelves. They were law-books, California Reports, and the ordinary text-books and form-booksof the attorney. All bore on the fly-leaf the name of Horace H. Plymire, but no paper or other indication of ownership could I find. 

I wondered idly who this Plymire might be, and pictured to myself someold attorney who had fallen into the hands of Doddridge Knapp, and had, through misfortune, been forced to sell everything for the mess ofpottage to keep life in him. But there was small time for musing, and Iwent out to do Doddridge Knapp's bidding in the stock-gamblingwhirlpool of Pine Street. 

There was already a confused murmur of voices about the rival exchangesthat were the battlegrounds of millionaires. The "curbstone boards"were in session. The buyers who traded face to face, and the brokerswho carried their offices under their hats, were noisily bargaining, raising as much clamor over buying and selling a few shares as the mostimportant dealer in the big boards could raise over the transfer of asmany thousands. 

It was easy to find Bockstein and Eppner, and there could be nomistaking the prosperity of the firm. The indifference of the clerks tomy presence, and the evident contempt with which an order for a hundredshares of something was being taken from an apologetic old gentlemanwere enough to assure me of that. 

Bockstein and Eppner were together, evidently consulting over thebusiness to be done. Bockstein was tall and gray-haired, with a stubbygray beard. Eppner was short and a little stooped, with a blue-blackmustache, snapping blue-black eyes, and strong blue-black dots over hisface where his beard struggled vainly against the devastating razor. Both were strongly marked with the shrewd, money-getting visage. I setforth my business. 

"You wand to gif a larch order?" said Bockstein, looking over mymemoranda. "Do you haf references?"

"Yes, " echoed Eppner. "References are customary, you know. " He spoke ina high-keyed voice that had irritating suggestions in it. 

"Is there any reference better than cash?" I asked. 

The partners looked at each other. "None, " they replied. 

"How much will secure you on the order?"

They named a heavy margin, and the sum total took my heart into mymouth. How large a balance I could draw against I had not the faintestidea. Possibly this was a trap to throw me into jail as a commonswindler attempting to pass worthless checks. But there was no time tohesitate. I drew a check for the amount, signed Henry Wilton's name, and tossed it over to Bockstein. 

"All ridt, " said the senior partner. "Zhust talk it ofer vit MisderEppner. He goes on der floor. "

I knew well enough what was wanted. My financial standing was to betested by the head of the firm, while the junior partner kept meamused. 

Eppner was quick to take my ideas. A few words of explanation, and heunderstood perfectly what I wanted. 

"You have not bought before?" It was an interrogation, not anassertion. 

"Oh, yes, " I said carelessly, "but not through you, I believe. "

"No, no, I think not. I should have remembered you. "

I thought this might be a favorable opportunity to glean a littleinformation of what was going on in the market. 

"Are there any good deals in prospect?" I ventured. 

I could see in the blue-black depths of his eyes that an unfavorableopinion he had conceived of my judgment was deepened by this question. There was doubtless in it the flavor of the amateur. 

"We never advise our customers, " was the high-keyed reply. 

"Certainly not, " I replied. "I don't want advice--merely to know whatis going on. "

"Excuse me, but I never gossip. It is a rule I make. "

"It might interfere with your opportunities to pick up a good bargainnow and then, " I suggested, as the blue-black man seemed at a loss forwords. 

"We never invest in stocks, " was the curt reply. 

"Excellent idea, " said I, "for those who know too much or too little. "

Eppner failed to smile, and could think of nothing to say. I was alittle abashed, notwithstanding the tone of haughty indifference Itook. I began to feel very young before this machine-like impersonationof the market. 

Bockstein relieved the embarrassment of the situation by coming in outof breath, with a brave pretense of having been merely consulting acustomer in the next room. 

"You haf exblained to Misder Eppner?" he inquired. "Den all is done. Here is a card to der Board Room. If orders you haf to gif, Eppner villdake dem on der floor. Zhust gif him der check for margin, and all isvell. "

At the end of this harangue I found myself outside the office, withBockstein's back waddling toward the private room where the partnerswere to have their last consultation before going to the Board. 

My check had been honored, then, and Bockstein had assured himself ofmy solvency. In the rebound from anxiety, I swelled with the pride of acapitalist--on Doddridge Knapp's money. 

In the Board Room of the big Exchange the uproar was somethingastonishing. The confusion outside had given me a suggestion that thebusiness of buying and selling stocks was carried on in a somewhat lessconventional manner than the trade in groceries. But it had not quiteprepared me for the scene in the Exchange. 

The floor was filled with a crowd of lunatics, howling, shaking fists, and pushing and scrambling from one place to another with the frenzy ofa band of red men practising the scalp dance by the bright glow of thewhite man's fire-water. A confused roar rose from the mob, and wheneverit showed signs of flagging a louder cry from some quarter would renewits strength, and a blast of shouts and screams, a rush of strugglingmen toward the one who had uttered the cry, and a waving of fists, arms, and hats, suggested visions of lynching and sudden death. 

After a little I was able to discover a method in the outbreaks ofapparent lunacy, and found that the shouts and yells and screams, theshaking of fists, and the waving of arms were merely a more or lessenergetic method of bidding for stocks; that the ringing of gongs andthe bellow of the big man who smiled on the bear-garden from the highdesk were merely the audible signs that another stock was being called;and that the brazen-voiced reading of a roll was merely the officialannouncement of the record of bargains and sales that had been going onbefore me. 

It was my good fortune to make out so much before the purchase of thestocks on my order list was completed. The crisis was at hand in whichI must have my wits about me, and be ready to act for myself. Eppner rushed up and reported the bargains made, handing me a slip withthe figures he had paid for the stocks. He was no longer the impassiveengine of business that he had appeared in the back room of his office. He was now the embodiment of the riot I had been observing. His blue-black hair was rumpled and on end. His blue-black eyes flashed withanimation. The blue-black dots that showed where his beard would be ifhe had let it were almost overwhelmed by the glow that excitement threwinto his sallow cheeks. 

"Any more orders?" he gasped. He was trembling with excitement andsuppressed eagerness for the fray. 

"Yes, " I shouted above the roar about me. "I want to buy Omega. "

He gave a look that might have been a warning, if I could have read it;but it was gone with a shrug as though he would say, "Well, it's nobusiness of mine. "

"How much?" he asked. "Wait!"

He started away at a scream from the front, but returned in a moment. He had bought or sold something, but I had not the least idea what itwas, or which he had done. 

"It's coming!" he yelled in my ear. 

The gong rang. There was a confused cry from the man at the big desk. And pandemonium let loose. 

I had thought the riot that had gone before as near the climax of noiseas it was possible to get. I was mistaken. The roar that followed thecall was to the noise that had gone before as is the hurricane to thezephyr. There was a succession of yells, hoots, cries and bellows; menrushed wildly at each other, swung in a mad dance, jumped up and down;and the floor became a frantic sea of fists, arms, hats, heads, and allthings movable. 

"Omega opens at sixty-five, " shouted Eppner. 

"Bid sixty, " I shouted in reply, "but get all you can, even if you haveto pay sixty-five. "

Eppner gave a bellow, and skated into a group of fat men, gesticulatingviolently. The roar increased, if such a thing were possible. 

In a minute Eppner was back, perspiring, and I fancied a trifleworried. 

"They're dropping it on me, " he gasped in my ear. "Five hundred atsixty-two and one thousand at sixty. Small lots coming fast and bigones on the way. "

"Good! Bid fifty-five, and then fifty, but get them. "

With a roar he rushed into the midst of a whirling throng. I saw twentybrokers about him, shouting and threatening. One in his eagernessjumped upon the shoulders of a fat man in front of him, and shook apaper under his nose. 

I could make out nothing of what was going on, except that theexcitement was tremendous. 

Twice Eppner reported to me. The stock was being hammered down strokeby stroke. There was a rush to sell. Fifty-five--fifty-three--fifty, came the price--then by leaps to forty-five and forty. It was a panic. At last the gong sounded, and the scene was over. Men staggered fromthe Exchange, white as death, some cursing, some angry and red, somedespairing, some elate. I could see that ten had lost for one who hadgained. 

Eppner reported at the end of the call. He had bought for me twelvethousand five hundred shares, over ten thousand of them below fifty. The total was frightful. There was half a million dollars to pay whenthe time for settlement came. It was folly to suppose that my credit atthe Nevada was of this size. But I put a bold face on it, gave a checkfor the figure that Eppner named, and rose. 

"Any more orders?" he asked. 

"Not till afternoon. "

As I passed into the street I was astonished at the swifttransformation that had come over it. The block about the Exchange wascrowded with a tossing throng, hundreds upon hundreds pushing towardits fateful doors. But where cheerfulness and hope had ruled, fear andgloom now vibrated in electric waves before me. The faces turned to thepitiless, polished granite front of the great gambling-hall were whiteand drawn, and on them sat Ruin and Despair. The men were for the mostpart silent, with here and there one cursing; the women, who were thereby scores, wept and mourned; and from the multitudes rose that peculiarwhisper of crowds that tells of apprehension of things worse to come. And this, I must believe, was the work of Doddridge Knapp. 

CHAPTER X

A TANGLE OF SCHEMES

Doddridge Knapp was seated calmly in my office when I opened the door. There was a grim smile about the firm jaws, and a satisfied glitter inthe keen eyes. The Wolf had found his prey, and the dismay of the sheepat the sight of his fangs gave him satisfaction instead of distress. 

The King of the Street honored me with a royal nod. 

"There seems to have been a little surprise for somebody on the Boardthis morning, " he suggested. 

"I heard something about it on the street, " I admitted. 

"It was a good plan and worked well. Let me see your memoranda ofpurchases. "

I gave him my slips. 

He looked over them with growing perplexity in his face. 

"Here's twelve thousand five hundred shares of Omega. "

"Yes. "

"You paid too much for that first lot. " He was still poring over thelist. 

"It's easier to see that now than then, " I suggested dryly. 

"Humph! yes. But there's something wrong here. " He was comparing mylist with another in his hand. 

"There!" I thought; "my confounded ignorance has made a mess of it. "But I spoke with all the confidence I could assume: "What's the matter, now?"

"Eleven thousand and twelve thousand five hundred make twenty-threethousand five hundred; and here are sales of Omega this morning ofthirty-three thousand eight hundred and thirty. " He seemed to betalking more to himself than to me, and to be far from pleased. 

"How's that? I don't understand. " I was all in the dark over hismusings. 

"I picked up eleven thousand shares in the other Boards this morning, and twelve thousand five hundred through you, but somebody has taken inthe other ten thousand. " The King of the Street seemed puzzled and, Ithought, a little worried. 

"Well, you got over twenty-three thousand shares, " I suggestedconsolingly. "That's a pretty good morning's work. "

The King of the Street gave me a contemptuous glance. 

"Don't be a fool, Wilton. I sold ten thousand of those shares tomyself. "

A new light broke upon me. I was getting lessons of one of the manyways in which the market was manipulated. 

"Then you think that somebody else--"

The King of the Street broke in with a grim smile. 

"Never mind what I think. I've got the contract for doing the thinkingfor this job, and I reckon I can 'tend to it. "

The great speculator was silent for a few moments. 

"I might as well be frank with you, " he said at last. "You'll have toknow something, to work intelligently. I must get control of the OmegaCompany, and to do it I've got to have more stock. I've been afraid ofa combination against me, and I guess I've struck it. I can't be sureyet, but when those ten thousand shares were gobbled up on a panickymarket, I'll bet there's something up. "

"Who is in it?" I asked politely. 

"They've kept themselves covered, " said the King of the Street, "butI'll have them out in the open before the end. And then, my boy, you'llsee the fur fly. "

As these words were uttered I could see the yellow-gray goatee riselike bristles, and the fangs of the Wolf shine white under the yellow-gray mustache. 

"I've got a few men staked out, " he continued slowly, "and I reckonI'll know something about it by this time to-morrow. " There was thegrowl of the Wolf in his voice. 

"Now for this afternoon, " he continued. "There's got to be some sharpwork done. I reckon the falling movement is over. We've got to pay forwhat we get from now on. I've got a man looking after the between-Boardtrading. With the scare that's on in the chipper crowd out there, Ilook to pick up a thousand shares or so at about forty. "

"Well, what's the program?" I asked cheerfully. 

"Buy, " he said briefly. "Take everything that's offered this side ofseventy-five. "

"Um--there's a half-million wanted already to settle for what I boughtthis morning. "

The bushy brows drew down, but the King of the Street answered lightly:

"Your check is good for a million, my boy, as long as it goes to settlefor what you're ordered to buy. " Then he added grimly: "I don't thinkyou'd find it worth much for anything else. "

There was a knock at the door beyond, and he hastily rose. 

"Be here after the two-thirty session, " he said. And the Wolf, huge andmasterful, disappeared with a stealthy tread, and the door closedsoftly behind him. 

A million dollars! My check honored for unlimited amounts! DoddridgeKnapp trusting me with a great fortune! I was overwhelmed, intoxicated, with the consciousness of power. 

Yet this was the man who had brought death to Henry Wilton, and hadtwice sought my life in the effort to wrest from me a packet ofinformation I did not have. This was the man whose face had gleamedfierce and hateful in the lantern's flash in the alley. This was theman I had sworn to bring to the gallows for a brutal crime. And now Iwas his trusted agent, with control, however limited, of millions. 

It was a puzzle too deep for me. I was near coming to Mother Borton'sview that there was something uncanny about Doddridge Knapp. Did twospirits animate that body? What was the thread that should join allparts of the mystery into one harmonious whole?

I wondered idly who Doddridge Knapp's visitor might be, but as I couldsee no way of finding out, and felt no special concern over hisidentity or purposes, I rose and left the office. As I stepped into thehall I discovered that somebody had a deeper curiosity than I. A manwas stooping to the keyhole of Doddridge Knapp's room in the endeavorto see or hear. As he heard the sound of my opening door he started up, and with a bound, was around the turn of the hall and pattering downthe stairs. 

In another bound I was after him. I had seen his form for but a second, and his face not at all. But in that second I knew him for Tim Terrillof the snake-eyes and the murderous purpose. 

When I reached the head of the stairs he was nowhere to be seen, but Iheard the patter of his feet below and plunged down three steps at atime and into Clay street, nearly upsetting a stout gentleman in myhaste. The street was busy with people, but no sign of the snake-eyedman greeted me. 

Much disturbed in mind at this apparition of my enemy, I sought in vainfor some explanation of his presence. Was he spying on Doddridge Knapp?Did he not stand on a better footing with his employer than this? Hewas, I must suppose, trusted with the most secret and evil purposes ofthat strange man, and should be able to speak with him on even terms. Yet here he was, doing the work of the merest spy. What wickedness washe planning? What treachery was he shaping in his designs on the manwhose bread he was eating and whose plans of crime he was the chiefagent to assist or execute?

I must have stood gaping in the street like a countryman at a fair as Irevolved these questions in my mind without getting an answer to them, for I was roused by a man bumping into me roughly. 

I suspected that he had done it on purpose, but I begged his pardon andfelt for my watch. I could find none of my personal property missing, but I noticed the fellow reeling back toward me, and doubled my fistwith something of an intention to commit a breach of the peace if herepeated his trick. I thought better of it, and started by him briskly, when he spoke in a low tone:

"You'd better go to your room, Mr. Wilton. " He said something more thatI did not catch, and, reeling on, disappeared in the crowd before Icould turn to mark or question him. 

I thought at first that he meant the room I had just left. Then itoccurred to me that it was the room Henry had occupied--the room inwhich I had spent my first dreadful night in San Francisco, and had notrevisited in the thirty hours since I had left it. 

The advice suited my inclination, and in a few minutes I was enteringthe dingy building and climbing the worn and creaking stairs. The placelost its air of mystery in the broad sunshine and penetrating daylight, and though its interior was as gloomy as ever, it lacked the hauntingsuggestions it had borrowed from darkness and the night. 

Slipped under the door I found two notes. One was from DetectiveCoogan, and read:

"Inquest this afternoon. Don't want you. Have another story. Do youwant the body?"

The other was in a woman's hand, and the faint perfume of the firstnote I had received rose from the sheet. It read:

"I do not understand your silence. The money is ready. What is thematter?"

The officer's note was easy enough to answer. I found paper, and, assuring Detective Coogan of my gratitude at escaping the inquest, Iasked him to turn the body over to the undertaker to be buried at myorder. 

The other note was more perplexing. I could make nothing of it. It wasevidently from my unknown employer, and her anxiety was plain to see. But I was no nearer to finding her than before, and if I knew how toreach her I knew not what to say. As I was contemplating this state ofaffairs with some dejection, and sealing my melancholy note toDetective Coogan, there was a quick step in the hall and a rap at thepanel. It was a single person, so I had no hesitation in opening thedoor, but it gave me a passing satisfaction to have my hand on therevolver in my pocket as I turned the knob. 

It was a boy, who thrust a letter into my hand. 

"Yer name Wilton?" he inquired, still holding on to the envelope. 

"Yes. "

"That's yourn, then. " And he was prepared to make a bolt. 

"Hold on, " I said. "Maybe there's an answer. "

"No, there ain't. The bloke as gave it to me said there weren't. "

"Well, here's something I want you to deliver, " said I, taking up mynote to Detective Coogan. "Do you know where the City Hall is?"

"Does I know--what are yer givin' us?" said the boy with infinite scornin his voice. 

"A quarter, " I returned with a laugh, tossing him the coin. "Wait aminute. "

"Yer ain't bad stuff, " said the boy with a grin. I tore open theenvelope and read on the sheet that came from it:

"Sell everything you bought--never mind the price. Other orders off. D. K. "

I gasped with amazement. Had Doddridge Knapp gone mad? To sell twelvethousand five hundred shares of Omega was sure to smash the market, andthe half-million dollars that had been put into them would probablyshrink by two hundred thousand or more if the order was carried out. 

I read the note again. 

Then a suspicion large enough to overshadow the universe grew up in mybrain. I recalled that Doddridge Knapp had given me a cipher with whichhe would communicate with me, and I believed, moreover, that he had noidea where I might be at the present moment. 

"It's all right, sonny, " I said. "Trot along. "

"Where's yer letter?" asked the boy, loyally anxious to earn hisquarter. 

"It won't have to go now, " I said coolly. I believed that the boy meantno harm to me, but I was not taking any risks. 

The boy sauntered down the hall, singing _My Name Is HildebrandtMontrose_, and I was left gazing at the letter with a melancholysmile. 

"Well, I must look like a sucker if they think I can be taken in by atrick like that, " was my mental comment. I charged the scheme up to mysnake-eyed friend and had a poorer opinion of his intelligence than Ihad hitherto entertained. Yet I was astonished that he should, evenwith the most hearty wish to bring about my downfall, contrive a planthat would inflict a heavy loss on his employer and possibly ruin himaltogether. There was more beneath than I could fathom. My brainrefused to work in the maze of contradictions and mysteries, plots andcounterplots, in which I was involved. 

I took my way at last toward the market, and, hailing a boy to whom Iintrusted my letter to Detective Coogan, walked briskly to Pine Street. 

CHAPTER XI

THE DEN OF THE WOLF

The street had changed its appearance in the two or three hours since Ihad made my way from the Exchange through the pallid, panic-strickenmob. There were still thousands of people between the corner ofMontgomery Street and Leidesdorff, and the little alley itself waspacked full of shouting, struggling traders. The thousands were brokeninto hundreds of groups, and men were noisily buying and selling, ordiscussing the chances of the market when the "big Board" should openonce more. But there was an air of confidence, almost of buoyancy, inplace of the gloom and terror that had lowered over the street at noon. Plainly the panic was over, and men were inspirited by a belief that"stocks were going up. "

I made a few dispositions accordingly. Taking Doddridge Knapp's hint, Iengaged another broker as a relief to Eppner, a short fat man, with thebaldest head I ever saw, a black beard and a hook-nose, whoseremarkable activity and scattering charges had attracted my attentionin the morning session. 

Wallbridge was his name, I found, and he proved to be as intelligent asI could wish--a merry little man, with a joke for all things, and aflow of words that was almost overwhelming. 

"Omega? Yes, " chuckled the stout little broker, after he had assuredhimself of my financial standing. "But you ought to have bought thismorning, if that's what you want. It was hell popping and the roofgiving 'way all at once. " The little man had an abundant stock ofprofanity which he used unconsciously and with such original variationsthat one almost forgot the blasphemy of it while listening to him. "Youought to have been there, " he continued, "and watched the boys shell'em out!"

"Yes, I heard you had lively times. "

"Boiling, " he said, with coruscating additions in the way of speech andgesture. "If it hadn't been for Decker and some fellow we haven't had achance to make out yet the bottom of the market would have been restingon the roof of the lower regions. " The little man's remark was slightlymore direct and forcible, but this will do for a revised version. 

"Decker!" I exclaimed, pricking up my ears. "I thought he had quit themarket. "

As I had never heard of Mr. Decker before that moment this was notexactly the truth, but I thought it would serve me better. 

"Decker out of it!" gasped Wallbridge, his bald head positivelyglistening at the absurdity of the idea. "He'll be out of it when he'scarried out. "

"I meant out of Omega. Is he getting up a deal?"

The little broker looked vexed, as though it crossed his mind that hehad said too much. 

"Oh, no. Guess not. Don't think he is, " he said rapidly. "Just wantedto save the market, I guess. If Omega had gone five points lower, therewould have been the sickest times in the Street that we've seen sincethe Bank of California closed and the shop across the way, "--pointinghis thumb at the Exchange, --"had to be shut up. But maybe it wasn'tDecker, you know. That's just what was rumored on the Street, youknow. "

I suspected that my little broker knew more than he was willing totell, but I forbore to press him further; and giving him the order tobuy all the Omega stock he could pick up under fifty, I made my way toEppner. 

The blue-black eyes of that impassive agent snapped with a glow ofinterest when I gave him my order to sell the other purchases of themorning and buy Omega, but faded into a dull stare when I lingered forconversation. 

I was not to be abashed. 

"I wonder who was picking up Omega this morning?" I said. 

"Oh, some of the shorts getting ready to fill contracts, " he replied inhis dry, uninterested tones. 

"I heard that Decker was in the market for the stock, " I said. 

The blue-black eyes gave a flash of genuine surprise. 

"Decker!" he exclaimed. Then his eyes fell, and he paused a momentbefore replying in his high inflexible voice. "He might be. "

"Is he after Omega, or is he just bracing up the market?"

"Excuse me, " said Eppner with the cold reflection of an apologetictone, "but we never advise customers. Are you walking over to theExchange?"

In the Exchange all was excitement, and the first call brought a roarof struggling brokers. I could make nothing of the clamor, but mynearest neighbor shouted in my ear:

"A strong market!"

"It looks that way, " I shouted back. It certainly was strong in noise. 

I made out at last that prices were being held to the figures of themorning's session, and in some cases were forced above them. 

The excitement grew as the call approached Omega. There was an electrictension in the air that told of the anxious hopes and fears thatcentered in the coming struggle. The stock was called at last, and Ilooked for a roar that would shake the building and a scene of riot onthe floor that would surpass anything I had witnessed yet. 

It failed to come. There was almost a pause in the proceedings. 

I caught a glimpse of Doddridge Knapp across the room, looking on witha grim smile on the wolf jaws and an apparently impassive interest inthe scene. I marveled at his coolness when his fortune, perhaps, turnedon the events of the next five minutes. He gave no sign, nor oncelooked in my direction. 

The clamor on the floor began and swelled in volume, and a breath ofvisible relief passed over the anxious assembly. 

Wallbridge and Eppner made a dive at once for a yelling broker, and acold chill ran down my back. I saw then that I had set my brokersbidding against each other for the same stock. 

"Great Mammon!" I thought. "If Doddridge Knapp ever finds it out, whata circus there will be!"

"She's going up!" said my neighbor with a shout of joy. He owned noneof the stock, but like the rest of the populace he was a bull onprinciple. 

I nodded with a dubious attempt to imitate his signs of satisfaction. 

Forty-five--forty-seven--fifty-five--it was going up by leaps. Iblessed the forethought that had suggested to me to put a limit onWallbridge and stop the competition between my agents at fifty. Thecontest grew warmer. I could follow with difficulty the course of theproceedings, but I knew that Omega was bounding upward. 

The call closed amid animation; but the excitement was nothing comparedto the scene that had followed the fall in the morning. Omega stood ateighty asked, and seventy-eight bid, and the ship of the stock gamblerswas again sailing on an even keel. Some hundreds had been washedoverboard, but there were thousands left, and nobody foresaw the daywhen the market would take the fashion of a storm-swept hulk, with onlya chance survivor clinging here and there to the wreckage andexchanging tales of the magnificence that once existed. 

The session was over at last, and Wallbridge and Eppner handed me theirmemoranda of purchases. 

"You couldn't pick Omega off the bushes this afternoon, Mr. Wilton, "said Wallbridge, wiping his bald head vigorously. "There's fools at alltimes, and some of 'em were here and ready to drop what they had; butnot many. I gathered in six hundred for you, but I had to fight forit. "

I thanked the merry broker, and gave him a check for his balance. 

Eppner had done some better with a wider margin, but all told I hadadded but three thousand one hundred shares to my list. I wondered howmuch of this had been sold to me by my employer. Plainly, if DoddridgeKnapp was needing Omega stock he would have to pay for it. 

There was no one to be seen as I reached Room 15. The connecting doorwas closed and locked, and no sound came from behind it. I turned toarrange the books, to keep from a bad habit of thinking over theinexplicable. But there was nothing exciting enough, in the statutes orreports of court decisions or text-books, to cover up the questionsagainst which I had been beating in vain ever since I had entered thisaccursed city. 

An hour passed, and no Doddridge Knapp. It was long past office hours. The sun had disappeared in the bank of fog that was rolling up from theocean and coming in wisps and streamers over the hills, and the lightwas fast failing. 

Just as I was considering whether my duty to my employer constrained meto wait longer, I caught sight of an envelope that had been slippedunder the door. I wondered, as I hastily opened it and brought itsinclosure to the failing light, how it could have got there. It was incipher, but it yielded to the key with which Doddridge Knapp hadprovided me. I made it out to be this:

 "Come to my house to-night. Bring your contracts with you. Knapp. "

I was thrown into some perplexity by this order. For a little Isuspected a trap, but on second thought this seemed unlikely. Theoffice furnished as convenient a place for homicidal diversions as hecould wish, if these were in his intention, and possibly a visit toDoddridge Knapp in his own house would give me a better clue to hishabits and purposes, and a better chance of bringing home to him hisawful crime, than a month together on the Street. 

The clocks were pointing past eight when I mounted the steps that ledto Doddridge Knapp's door. Doddridge Knapp's house fronted upper PineStreet much as Doddridge Knapp himself fronted lower Pine Street. Therewas a calmly aggressive look about it that was typical of the owner. Itdefied the elements with easy strength, as Doddridge Knapp defied thestorms of the market. I had the fancy that even if the directory hadnot given me its position I might have picked it out from its neighborsby its individuality, its impression of reserve force. 

I had something of trepidation, after all, as I rang the bell, for Iwas far from being sure that Doddridge Knapp was above carrying out hisdesperate purposes in his own house, and I wondered whether I shouldever come out again, once I was behind those massive doors. I had takenthe precaution to find a smaller revolver, "suitable for an eveningcall, " as I assured myself, but it did not look to be much of aprotection in case the house held a dozen ruffians of the Terrillbrand. However, I must risk it. I gave my name to the servant whoopened the door. 

"This way, " he said quietly. 

I had hardly time as I passed to note the large hall, the handsomestaircase, and the wide parlors that hung rich with drapery, but indarkness. I was led beyond and behind them, and in a moment was usheredinto a small, plainly-furnished room; and at a desk covered with paperssat Doddridge Knapp, the picture of the Wolf in his den. 

"Sit down, Wilton, " said he with grim affability, giving his hand. "Youwon't mind if an old man doesn't get up. "

I made some conventional reply. 

"Sorry to disappoint you this afternoon, and take up your evening, " hesaid; "but I found some business that needed more immediate attention. There was a little matter that had to be looked after in person. " Andthe Wolf's fangs showed in a cruel smile, which assured me that the"little matter" had terminated unhappily for the other man. 

I airily professed myself happy to be at his service at any time. 

"Yes, yes, " he said; "but let's see your memoranda. Did you do wellthis afternoon?"

"No-o, " I returned apologetically. "Not so well as I wished. "

He took the papers and looked over them carefully. 

"Thirty-one hundred, " he said reflectively. "Those sales were allright. Well, I was afraid you couldn't get above three thousand. Ididn't get more than two thousand in the other Boards and on theStreet. "

"That was the best I could do, " I said modestly. "They average atsixty-five. Omega got away from us this afternoon like a runawayhorse. "

"Yes, yes, " said the King of the Street, studying his papers with drawnbrows. "That's all right. I'll have to wait a bit before goingfurther. " I bowed as became one who had no idea of the plans ahead. 

"And now, " said Doddridge Knapp, turning on me a keen and loweringgaze, "I'd like to know what call you have to be spying on me?"

I opened my eyes wide in wonder. 

"Spying? I don't understand. "

"No?" said he, with something between a growl and a snarl. "Well, maybeyou don't understand that, either!" And he tossed me a bit of paper. 

I felt sure that I did not. My ignorance grew into amazement as I read. The slip bore the words:

 "I have bought Crown Diamond. What's the limit? Wilton. "

"I certainly don't understand, " I said. "What does it mean?"

"The man who wrote it ought to know, " growled Doddridge Knapp, with hiseyes flashing and the yellow-gray mustache standing out like bristles. The fangs of the Wolf were in sight. 

"Well, you'll have to look somewhere else for him, " I said firmly. "Inever saw the note, and never bought a share of Crown Diamond. "

Doddridge Knapp bent forward, and looked for an instant as though hewould leap upon me. His eye was the eye of a wild beast in anger. If Ihad written that note I should have gone through the window withoutstopping for explanations. As I had not written it I sat there coollyand looked him in the face with an easy conscience. 

"Well, well, " he said at last, relaxing his gaze, "I almost believeyou. "

"There's no use going any further, Mr. Knapp, unless you believe mealtogether. "

"I see you understand what I was going to say, " he said quietly. "Butif you didn't send that, who did?"

"Well, if I were to make a guess, I should say it was the man who wrotethis. "

I tossed him in turn the note I had received in the afternoon, biddingme sell everything. 

The King of the Street looked at it carefully, and his brows drew lowerand lower as its import dawned on him. The look of angry perplexitydeepened on his face. 

"Where did you get this?"

I detailed the circumstances. 

The anger that flashed in his eyes was more eloquent than the outbreakof curses I expected to hear. 

"Um!" he said at last with a grim smile. "It's lucky, after all, thatyou had something besides cotton in that skull of yours, Wilton. "

"A fool might have been caught by it, " I said modestly. 

"There looks to be trouble ahead, " he said, "There's a rascally gang inthe market these days. " And the King of the Street sighed over thedishonesty that had corrupted the stock gamblers' trade. I smiledinwardly, but signified my agreement with my employer. 

"Well, who wrote them?" he asked almost fiercely. "They seem to comefrom the same hand. "

"Maybe you'd better ask that fellow who had his eye at your keyholewhen I left the office this noon. "

"Who was that?" The Wolf gave a startled look. "Why didn't you tellme?"

"He was a well-made, quick, lithe fellow, with an eye that reminded meof a snake. I gave chase to him, but couldn't overhaul him. He squirmedaway in the crowd, I guess. "

The last part of my tale was unheard. At the description of the snake-eyed man, Doddridge Knapp sank back in his chair, the flash of angerdied out of his eyes, and his mind was far away. 

Was it terror, or anxiety, or wonder, that swept in shadow across hisface? The mask that never gave up a thought or purpose before thechanging fortunes of the market was not likely to fail its owner here. I could make nothing out of the page before me, except that the visionof Terrill had startled him. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said at last, in a steady voice. 

"I didn't suppose it was worth coming back for, after I got into thestreet. And, besides, you were busy. "

"Yes, yes, you were right: you are not to come--of course, of course. "

The King of the Street looked at me curiously, and then said smoothly:

"But this isn't business. " And he plunged into the papers once more. "There were over nine thousand shares sold this afternoon, and I gotonly five thousand of them. "

"I suppose Decker picked the others up, " I said. 

The King of the Street did me the honor to look at me in amazement. 

"Decker!" he roared. "How did you--" Then he paused and his voicedropped to its ordinary tone. "I reckon you're right. What gave you theidea?"

I frankly detailed my conversation with Wallbridge. As I went on, Ifancied that the bushy brows drew down and a little anxiety showedbeneath them. 

I had hardly finished my account when there was a knock at the door, and the servant appeared. 

"Mrs. Knapp's compliments, and she would like to see Mr. Wilton whenyou are done, " he said. 

I could with difficulty repress an exclamation, and my heart climbedinto my throat. I was ready to face the Wolf in his den, but here was adifferent matter. I recalled that Mrs. Knapp was a more intimateacquaintance of Henry Wilton's than Doddridge Knapp had been, and I sawNiagara ahead of my skiff. 

"Yes, yes; quite likely, " said my employer, referring to my story ofWallbridge. "I heard something of the kind from my men. I'll know to-morrow for certain, I expect. I forgot to tell you that the ladieswould want to see you. They have missed you lately. " And the Wolfmotioned me to the door where the servant waited. 

Here was a predicament. I was missed and wanted--and by the ladies. Myheart dropped back from my throat, and I felt it throbbing in thelowest recesses of my boot-heels as I rose and followed my guide. 

CHAPTER XII

LUELLA KNAPP

As the door swung open, my heart almost failed me. If there had been achance of escape I should have made the bolt, then and there. 

I had not counted on an interview with the women of Doddridge Knapp'sfamily. I had, to be sure, vaguely foreseen the danger to come frommeeting them, but I had been confident that it would be easy to avoidthem. And now, in the face of the emergency, my resources had failedme, and I was walking into Mrs. Knapp's reception-room without theglimmer of an idea of how I should find my way out. 

Two women rose to greet me as I entered the room. 

"Good evening, " said the elder woman, holding out her hand. "You haveneglected us for a long time. " There was something of reproach as wellas civility in the voice. 

Mrs. Doddridge Knapp, for I had no doubt it was she who greeted me, waslarge of frame but well-proportioned, and stood erect, vigorous, withan air of active strength rare in one of her years. Her age was, Isupposed, near forty-five. Her face was strong and resolute, yet it waswith the strength and resolution of a woman, not of a man. Altogethershe looked a fit mate for Doddridge Knapp. 

"Yes, " I replied, adjusting my manner nicely to hers, "I have been verybusy. "

As she felt the touch of my hand and heard the sound of my voice, Ithought I saw a look of surprise, apprehension and hesitation in hereyes. If it was there it was gone in an instant, and she replied gaily:

"Busy? How provoking of you to say so! You should never be too busy totake the commands of the ladies. "

"That is why I am here, " I interrupted with my best bow. But shecontinued without noting it:

"Luella wagered with me that you would make that excuse. I expectedsomething more original. "

"I am very sorry, " I said, with a reflection of the bantering air shehad assumed. 

"Oh, indeed!" exclaimed the younger woman, to whom my eyes had turnedas Mrs. Knapp spoke her name. "How very unkind of you to say so, when Ihave just won a pair of gloves by it. Good evening to you!" And sheheld out her hand. 

It was with a strong effort that I kept my self-possession, as for thefirst time I clasped the hand of Luella Knapp. 

Was it the thrill of her touch, the glance of her eye, or the magnetismof her presence, that set my pulses beating to a new measure, and gavemy spirit a breath from a new world? Whatever the cause, as I lookedinto the clear-cut face and the frank gray eyes of the woman before me, I was swept by a flood of emotion that was near overpowering my self-control. 

Nor was it altogether the emotion of pleasure that was roused withinme. As I looked into her eyes, I had the pain of seeing myself in alight that had not as yet come to me. I saw myself not the friend ofHenry Wilton, on the high mission of bringing to justice the man whohad foully sent him to death. In that flash I saw Giles Dudley hidingunder a false name, entering this house to seek for another link in thechain that would drag this girl's father to the gallows and turn herlife to bitterness and misery. And in the reflection from the cleardepths of the face before me, I saw Imposter and Spy written large onmy forehead. 

I mastered the emotion in a moment and took the seat to which she hadwaved me. 

I was puzzled a little at the tone in which she addressed me. There wasa suggestion of resentment in her manner that grew on me as we talked. 

Can I describe her? Of what use to try? She was not beautiful, and"pretty" was too petty a word to apply to Luella Knapp. "Fine looking, "if said with the proper emphasis, might give some idea of herappearance, for she was tall in figure, with features that wereimpressive in their attractiveness. Yet her main charm was in the lightthat her spirit and intelligence threw on her face; and this no one candescribe. 

The brightness of her speech did not disappoint the expectation I hadthus formed of her. It was a finely-cultivated mind that was revealedto me, and it held a wit rare to woman. I followed her lead in theconversational channel, giving but a guiding oar when it turned towardacquaintances she held in common with Henry Wilton, or events that hadinterested them together. 

Through it all the idea that Miss Knapp was regarding me with a hiddendisapproval was growing on me. I decided that Henry had made someuncommon blunder on his last visit and that I was suffering the penaltyfor it. The admiration I felt for the young woman deepened with everysentence she spoke, and I was ready to do anything to restore the goodopinion that Henry might have endangered, and in lieu of apologyexerted myself to the utmost to be agreeable. 

I was unconscious of the flight of time until Mrs. Knapp turned fromsome other guests and walked toward us. 

"Come, Henry, " she said pointedly, "Luella is not to monopolize you allthe time. Besides, there's Mr. Inman dying to speak to her. "

I promptly hated Mr. Inman with all my heart and felt not the slightestobjection to his demise; but at her gesture of command I rose andaccompanied Mrs. Knapp, as a young man with eye-glasses and a smirkcame to take my place. I left Luella Knapp, congratulating myself overmy cleverness in escaping the pitfalls that lined my way. 

"Now I've a chance to speak to you at last, " said Mrs. Knapp. 

"At your service, " I bowed. "I owe you something. "

"Indeed?" Mrs. Knapp raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

"For your kind recommendation to Mr. Knapp. "

"My recommendation? You have a little the advantage of me. "

I was stricken with painful doubts, and the cold sweat started upon me. Perhaps this was not Mrs. Knapp after all. 

"Oh, perhaps you didn't mean it, " I said. 

"Indeed I did, if it was a recommendation. I'm afraid it wasunconscious, though. Mr. Knapp does not consult me about his business. "

I was in doubt no longer. It was the injured pride of the wife thatspoke in the tone. 

"I'm none the less obliged, " I said carelessly. "He assured me that heacted on your words. "

"What on earth are you doing for Mr. Knapp?" she asked earnestly, dropping her half-bantering tone. There was a trace of apprehension inher eyes. 

"I'm afraid Mr. Knapp wouldn't think your recommendations were quitejustified if I should tell you. Just get him in a corner and ask him. "

"I suppose it is that dreadful stock market. "

"Oh, madam, let me say the chicken market. There is a wonderfulopportunity just now for a corner in fowls. "

"There are a good many to be plucked in the market that Mr. Knapp willlook after, " she said with a smile. But there was something of aworried look behind it. "Oh, you know, Henry, that I can't bear themarket. I have seen too much of the misery that has come from it. Itcan eat up a fortune in an hour. A dear friend saw her home, the houseover her head, all she possessed, go in a breath on a turn of the cardsin that dreadful place. And her husband left her to face it with twolittle children. The coward escaped it with a bullet through his head, after he had brought ruin on his home and family. "

She shuddered as she looked about her, as though in fancy she sawherself turned from the palace into the street. 

"Mr. Knapp is not a man to lose, " I said. 

"Mr. Knapp is a strong man, " she said with a proud straightening of herfigure. "But the whirlpool can suck down the strongest swimmer. "

"But I suspect Mr. Knapp makes whirlpools instead of swimming intothem, " I said meaningly. 

"Ah, Henry, " she said sadly, "how often have I told you that the bestplan may come to ruin in the market? It may not take much to start aboulder rolling down the mountain-side, but who is to tell it to stopwhen once it is set going?"

"I think, " said I, smiling, "that Mr. Knapp would ride the boulder andfind himself in a gold mine at the end of the journey. "

"Perhaps. But you're not telling me what Mr. Knapp is doing. "

"He can tell you much better than I. "

"No doubt, " she said with a trace of sarcasm in her voice. 

"And here he comes to do it, I expect, " I said, as the tall figure ofthe King of the Street appeared in the doorway opposite. 

"I'm afraid I shall have to depend on the newspapers, " she said. "Mr. Knapp is as much afraid of a woman's tongue as you are. Oh, " shecontinued after a moment's pause, "I was going to make you give anaccount of yourself; but since you will tell nothing I must introduceyou to my cousin, Mrs. Bowser. " And she led me, unresisting, to ashort, sharp-featured woman of sixty or thereabouts, who rustled hersilks, and in a high, thin voice professed herself charmed to see me. 

She might have claimed and held the record as the champion of theconversational ring. I had never met her equal before, nor have I metone to surpass her since. 

Had I been long in the city? She had been here only a week. Came fromdown Maine way. This was a dear, dreadful city with such nice peopleand such dreadful winds, wasn't it? And then she gave me a catalogue ofthe places she had visited, and the attractions of San Francisco, witha wealth of detail and a poverty of interest that was little less thanmarvelous. 

Fortunately she required nothing but an occasional murmur of assent inthe way of answer from me. 

I looked across the room to the corner where Luella was entertainingthe insignificant Inman. How vivacious and intelligent she appeared!Her face and figure grew on me in attractiveness, and I felt that I wasbeing very badly used. As I came to this point I was roused by thesound of two low voices that just behind me were plainly audible underthe shrill treble of Mrs. Bowser. They were women with their headsclose in gossip. 

"Shocking, isn't it?" said one. 

"Dreadful!" said the other. "It gives me the creeps to think of it. "

"Why don't they lock him up? Such a creature shouldn't be allowed to goat large. "

"Oh, you see, maybe they can't be sure about it. But I've heard it's acase of family pride. "

I was recalled from this dialogue by Mrs. Bowser's fan on my arm, andher shrill voice in my ear with, "What is your idea about it, Mr. Wilton?"

"I think you are perfectly right, " I said heartily, as she paused foran answer. 

"Then I'll arrange it with the others at once, " she said. 

This was a bucket of ice-water on me. I had not the first idea to whatI had committed myself. 

"No, don't, " I said. "Wait till we have time to discuss it again. "

"Oh, we can decide on the time whenever you like. Will some night weekafter next suit you?"

I had to throw myself on the mercy of the enemy. 

"I'm afraid I'm getting rather absent-minded, " I said humbly. "I waslooking at Miss Knapp and lost the thread of the discourse for aminute. "

"That's what I was talking about, " she said sharply, --"about taking herand the rest of us through Chinatown. "

"Yes, yes. I remember, " I said unblushingly. "If I can get away frombusiness, I'm at your service at any time. "

Then Mrs. Bowser wandered on with the arrangements she would findnecessary to make, and I heard one of the low voices behind me:

"Now this is a profound secret, you know. I wouldn't have them know forthe world that any one suspects. I just heard it this week, myself. "

"Oh, I wouldn't dare breathe it to a soul, " said the other. "But I'msure I shan't sleep a wink tonight. " And they moved away. 

I interrupted Mrs. Bowser to explain that I must speak to Mrs. Knapp, and made my escape as some one stopped to pass a word with her. 

"Oh, must you go, Henry?" said Mrs. Knapp. "Well, you must come againsoon. We miss you when you stay away. Don't let Mr. Knapp keep you tooclosely. "

I professed myself happy to come whenever I could find the time, andlooked about for Luella. She was nowhere to be seen. I left the room alittle disappointed, but with a swelling of pride that I had passed thedreaded ordeal and had been accepted as Henry Wilton in the house inwhich I had most feared to meet disaster. My opinion of my owncleverness had risen, in the language of the market, "above par. "

As I passed down the hall, a tall willowy figure stepped from theshadow of the stair. My heart gave a bound of delight. It was LuellaKnapp. I should have the pleasure of a leave-taking in private. 

"Oh, Miss Knapp!" I said. "I had despaired of having the chance to bidyou good night. " And I held out my hand. 

She ignored the hand. I could see from her heaving bosom and shortenedbreath that she was laboring under great agitation. Yet her face gaveno evidence of the effort that it cost her to control herself. 

"I was waiting for you, " she said in a low voice. 

I started to express my gratification when she interrupted me. 

"Who are you?" broke from her lips almost fiercely. 

I was completely taken aback, and stared at her in amazement with noword at command. 

"You are not Henry Wilton, " she said rapidly. "You have come here withhis name and his clothes, and made up to look like him, and you try touse his voice and take his place. Who are you?"

There was a depth of scorn and anger and apprehension in that low voiceof hers that struck me dumb. 

"Can you not answer?" she demanded, catching her breath withexcitement. "You are not Henry Wilton. "

"Well?" I said half-inquiringly. It was not safe to advance or retreat. 

"Well--! well--!" She repeated my answer, with indignation and disdaindeepening in her voice. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"What should I say?" I replied quietly. "You make an assertion. Isthere anything more to be said?"

"Oh, you may laugh at me if you please, because you can hoodwink theothers. "

I protested that laughter was the last thing I was thinking of at themoment. 

Then she burst out impetuously:

"Oh, if I were only a man! No; if I were a man I should be hoodwinkedlike the rest. But you can not deceive me. Who are you? What are youhere for? What are you trying to do?"

She was blazing with wrath. Her tone had raised hardly an interval ofthe scale, but every word that came in that smooth, low voice was heavywith contempt and anger. It was the true daughter of the Wolf who stoodbefore me. 

"I am afraid, Miss Knapp, you are not well tonight, " I said soothingly. 

"What have you done with Henry Wilton?" she asked fiercely. "Don't tryto speak with his voice. Drop your disguise. You are no actor. You areno more like him than--"

The simile failed her in her wrath. 

"Satyr to Hyperion, " I quoted bitterly. "Make it strong, please. "

I had thought myself in a tight place in the row at Borton's, but itwas nothing to this encounter. 

"Oh, where is he? What has happened?" she cried. 

"Nothing has happened, " I said calmly, determining at last to brazen itout. I could not tell her the truth. "My name is Henry Wilton. "

She looked at me in anger a moment, and then a shadow of dread anddespair settled over her face. 

I was tempted beyond measure to throw myself on her mercy and tell all. The subtle sympathy that she inspired was softening my resolution. Yet, as I looked into her eyes, her face hardened, and her wrath blazedforth once more. 

"Go!" she said. "I hope I may never see you again!" And she turned andran swiftly up the stair. I thought I heard a sob, but whether of angeror sorrow I knew not. 

And I went out into the night with a heavier load of depression than Ihad borne since I entered the city. 

CHAPTER XIII

A DAY OF GRACE

The wind blew strong and moist and salt from the western ocean as Iwalked down the steps into the semi-darkness of Pine Street. But it waspowerless to cool the hot blood that surged into my cheeks in thetumult of emotion that followed my dismissal by Luella Knapp. I wasfurious at the poor figure I had cut in her sight, at the insults I hadbeen forced to bear without reply, and at the hopelessness of settingmyself right. Yet, more than all was I sick at heart at the dreadfultask before me. My spirit was bleeding from every stab that this girlhad dealt me; yet I had to confess that her outburst of rage hadchallenged my admiration even more than her brightness in the hour thathad gone before. How could I go through with my work? How could I bearto overwhelm her with the sorrow and disgrace that must crush on her ifI proved to the world the awful facts that were burned on my brain?

Resolve, shame, despair, fought with each other in the tumult in mymind as I passed between the bronze lions and took my way down thestreet. I was called out of my distractions with a sudden start asthough a bucket of cold water had been thrown over me. I had proceedednot twenty feet when I saw two dark forms across the street. They had, it struck me, been waiting for my appearance, for one ran to join theother and both hastened toward the corner as though to be ready to meetme. 

I could not retreat to the house of the Wolf that loomed forbiddinglybehind me. There was nothing to do but to go forward and trust to mygood fortune, and I shifted my revolver to the side-pocket of myovercoat as I stepped briskly to the corner. Then I stopped under thelamp-post to reconnoiter. 

The two men who had roused my apprehensions did not offer to cross thestreet, but slackened their pace and strolled slowly along on the otherside. I noted that it seemed a long way between street-lampsthereabouts. I could see none between the one under which I wasstanding and the brow of the hill below. Then it occurred to me thatthis circumstance might not be due to the caprice of the streetdepartment of the city government, but to the thoughtfulness of thegentlemen who were paying such close attention to my affairs. I decidedthat there were better ways to get down town than were offered by PineStreet. 

To the south the cross-street stretched to Market with an unbrokenarray of lights, and as my unwary watchers had disappeared in thedarkness, I hastened down the incline with so little regard for dignitythat I found myself running for a Sutter Street car--and caught it, too. As I swung on to the platform I looked back; but I saw no sign ofskulking figures before the car swept past the corner and blotted thestreet from sight. 

The incident gave me a distaste for the idea of going back to HenryWilton's room at this time of the night. So as Montgomery Street wasreached I stepped into the Lick House, where I felt reasonably surethat I might get at least one night's sleep, free from the hauntingfear of the assassin. 

But, once more safe, the charms of Luella Knapp again claimed the majorpart of my thoughts, and when I went to sleep it was with her scornfulwords ringing in my ears. I awoke in the darkness--perhaps it was inbut a few minutes--with the confused dream that Luella Knapp was seizedin the grasp of the snake-eyed Terrill, and I was struggling to come toher assistance and seize him by his hateful throat. But, becoming calmfrom this exciting vision, I slept soundly until the morning sun peepedinto the room with the cheerful announcement that a new day was born. 

In the fresh morning air and the bright morning light, I felt that Imight have been unduly suspicious and had fled from harmless citizens;and I was ashamed that I had lacked courage to return to Henry's roomas I made my way thither for a change of clothes. I thought better ofmy decision, however, as I stepped within the gloomy walls of the houseof mystery, and my footfalls echoed through the chilling silence of thehalls. And I lost all regret over my night's lack of courage when Ireached my door. It was swung an inch ajar, and as I approached Ithought I saw it move. 

"I'm certain I locked it, " was my inward comment. 

I stopped short and hunted my revolver from my overcoat pocket. I wasnervous for a moment, and angry at the inattention that might have costme my life. 

"Who's there?" I demanded. 

No reply. 

I gave a knock on the door at long reach. 

There was no sound and I gave it a push that sent it open while Iprudently kept behind the fortification of the casing. As nodevelopments followed this move, I peeped through the door in cautiousinvestigation. The room was quite empty, and I walked in. 

The sight that met my eyes was astonishing. Clothes, books, papers, were scattered over the floor and bed and chairs. The carpet had beenpartly ripped up, the mattress torn apart, the closet cleared out, andevery corner of the room had been ransacked. 

It was clear to my eye that this was no ordinary case of robbery. Thesearch, it was evident, was not for money and jewelry alone, andbulkier property had been despised. The men who had torn the place topieces must, I surmised, have been after papers of some kind. 

I came at once to the conclusion that I had been favored by a visitfrom my friends, the enemy. As they had failed to find me in, they hadlooked for some written memoranda of the object of their search. 

I knew well that they had found nothing among the clothing or papersthat Henry had left behind. I had searched through these myself, andthe sole document that could bear on the mystery was at that momentfast in my inside pocket. I was inclined to scout the idea that HenryWilton had hidden anything under the carpet, or in the mattress, or inany secret place. The threads of the mystery were carried in his head, and the correspondence, if there had been any, was destroyed. 

As I was engaged in putting the room to rights, the door swung back, and I jumped to my feet to face a man who stood on the threshold. 

"Hello!" he cried. "House-cleaning again?"

It was Dicky Nahl, and he paused with a smile on his face. 

"Ah, Dicky!" I said with an effort to keep out of my face and voice thesuspicions I had gained from the incidents of the visit to the Bortonplace. "Entirely unpremeditated, I assure you. "

"Well, you're making a thorough job of it, " he said with a laugh. 

"Fact is, " said I ruefully, "I've been entertaining angels--of theblack kind--unawares. I was from home last night, and I find thatsomebody has made himself free with my property while I was away. "

"Whew!" whistled Dicky. "Guess they were after you. "

I gave Dicky a sidelong glance in a vain effort to catch more of hismeaning than was conveyed by his words. 

"Shouldn't be surprised, " I replied dryly, picking up an armful ofbooks. "I'd expect them to be looking for me in the book-shelf, orinside the mattress-cover, or under the carpet. "

Dicky laughed joyously. 

"Well, they did rather turn things upside down, " he chuckled. "Did theyget anything?" And he fell to helping me zealously. 

"Not that I can find out, " I replied. "Nothing of value, anyhow. "

"Not any papers, or anything of that sort?" asked Dicky anxiously. 

"Dicky, my boy, " said I; "there are two kinds of fools. The other isthe man who writes his business on a sheet of paper and forgets to burnit. "

Dicky grinned merrily. 

"Gad, you're getting a turn for epigram! You'll be writing for the_Argonaut_, first we know. "

"Well, you'll allow me a shade of common sense, won't you?"

"I don't know, " said Dicky, considering the proposition doubtfully. "Itmight have been awkward if you had left anything lying about. But ifyou had real good sense you'd have had the guards here. What are youpaying them for, anyhow?"

I saw difficulties in the way of explaining to Dicky why I had notordered the guards on duty. 

"Oh, by the way, " said Dicky suddenly, before a suitable reply had cometo me; "how about the scads--spondulicks--you know? Yesterday was pay-day, but you didn't show up. "

I don't know whether my jaw dropped or not. My spirits certainly did. 

"By Jove, Dicky!" I exclaimed, catching my breath. "It slipped my mind, clean. I haven't got at our--ahem--banker, either. "

I saw now what that mysterious money was for--or a part of it, at allevents. What I did not see was how I was to get it, and how to pay itto my men. 

"That's rough, " said Dicky sympathetically. "I'm dead broke. "

It would appear then that Dicky looked to me for pay, whether or not hefelt bound to me in service. 

"There's one thing I'd like explained before a settlement, " said Igrimly, as I straightened out the carpet; "and that is the littleperformance for my benefit the other night. "

Dicky cocked his head on one side, and gave me an uneasy glance. 

"Explanation?" he said in affected surprise. 

"Yes, " said I sternly. "It looked like a plant. I was within one ofgetting a knife in me. "

"What became of you?" inquired Dicky. "We looked around for you for anhour, and were afraid you had been carried off. "

"That's all right, Dicky, " I said. "I know how I got out. What I wantto know is how I got in--taken in. "

"I don't know, " said Dicky anxiously. "I was regularly fooled, myself. I thought they were fishermen, all right enough, and I never thoughtthat Terrill had the nerve to come in there. I was fooled by hisdisguise, and he gave the word, and I thought sure that Richmond hadsent him. " Dicky had dropped all banter, and was speaking with the toneof sincerity. 

"Well, it's all right now, but I don't want any more slips of thatsort. Who was hurt?"

"Trent got a bad cut in the side. One of the Terrill gang was shot. Iheard it was only through the arm or leg, I forget which. "

I was consumed with the desire to ask what had become of Borton's, butI suspected that I was supposed to know, and prudently kept thequestion to myself. 

"Well, come along, " said I. "The room will do well enough now. Oh, here's a ten, and I'll let you know as soon as I get the rest. Wherecan I find you?"

"At the old place, " said Dicky; "three twenty-six. "

"Clay?" I asked in desperation. Dicky gave me a wondering look asthough he suspected my mind was going. 

"No--Geary. What's the matter with you?"

"Oh, to be sure. Geary Street, of course. Well, let me know if anythingturns up. Keep a close watch on things. "

Dicky looked at me in some apparent perplexity as I walked up the stairto my Clay Street office, but gave only some laughing answer as heturned back. 

But I was in far from a laughing humor myself. The problem of payingthe men raised fresh prospects of trouble, and I reflected grimly thatif the money was not found I might be in more danger from my unpaidmercenaries than from the enemy. 

Ten o'clock passed, and eleven, with no sign from Doddridge Knapp, andI wondered if the news I had carried him of the activities of Terrilland of Decker had disarranged his plans. 

I tried the door into Room 16. It was locked, and no sound came to myears from behind it. 

"I should really like to know, " I thought to myself, "whether Mr. Doddridge Knapp has left any papers in his desk that might bear on theWilton mystery. "

I tried my keys, but none of them fitted the lock. I gave up theattempt--indeed, my mind shrank from the idea of going through myemployer's papers--but the desire of getting a key that would open thedoor was planted in my brain. 

Twelve o'clock came. No Doddridge Knapp had appeared, and I sauntereddown to the Exchange to pick up any items of news. It behooved me to belooking out for Doddridge Knapp's movements. If he had got anotheragent to carry out his schemes, I should have to prepare my lines forattack from another direction. 

Wallbridge was just coming rapidly out of the Exchange. 

"No, " said the little man, mopping the perspiration from his shininghead, "quiet as lambs to-day. Their own mothers wouldn't have known theBoard from a Sunday-school. "

I inquired about Omega. 

"Flat as a pancake, " said the little man. "Nothing doing. "

"What! Is it down?" I exclaimed with some astonishment. 

"Lord bless you, no!" said Wallbridge, surprised in his turn. "Strongand steady at eighty, but we didn't sell a hundred shares to-day. Well, I'm in a rush. Good-by, if you don't want to buy or sell. " And hehurried off without waiting for a reply. 

So I was now assured that Doddridge Knapp had not displaced me in theOmega deal. It was a recess to prepare another surprise for the Street, and I had time to attend to a neglected duty. 

The undertaker's shop that held the morgue looked hardly less gloomy inthe afternoon sun than in the light of breaking day in which I had leftit when I parted from Detective Coogan. The office was decoratedmournfully to accord with the grief of friends who ordered the coffins, or the feelings of the surviving relatives on settling the bills. 

"I am Henry Wilton, " I explained to the man in charge. "There was abody left here by Detective Coogan to my order, I believe. "

"Oh, yes, " he said: "What do you want done with it?"

I explained that I wished to arrange to have it deposited in a vaultfor a time, as I might carry it East. 

"That's easy done, " he said; and he explained the details. "Would youlike to see the body?" he concluded. "We embalmed it on the strength ofCoogan's order. "

I shrank from another look at the battered form. The awfulness of thetragedy came upon me with hardly less force than in the moment when Ihad first faced the mangled and bleeding body on the slab in the dead-room. Again I saw the scene in the alley; again his last cry for helprang in my ears; again I retraced the dreadful experiences of thenight, and stood in the dim horror of the morgue with the questioningvoice of the detective echoing beside me; and again did that wolf-facerise out of the lantern-flash over the body of the man whose death ithad caused. 

The undertaker was talking, but I knew not what he said. I was shakingwith the horror and grief of the situation, and in that moment Irenewed my vow to have blood for blood and life for life, if law andjustice were to be had. 

"We'll take it out any time, " said the undertaker, with a decorousreflection of my grief upon his face. "Would you like to accompany theremains?"

I decided that I would. 

"Well, there's nothing doing now. We can start as soon as we havesealed the casket. "

"As soon as you can. There's nothing to wait for. "

The ride to the cemetery took me through a part of San Francisco that Ihad not yet seen. Flying battalions of fog advanced swiftly upon us aswe faced the West, and the day grew pale and ghostlike. The gray masseswere pouring fast over the hills toward which we struggled, and theranks thickened as we drew near the burial-place. 

I paid little attention to the streets through which we passed. My mindwas on the friend whose name I had taken, whose work I was to do. I wasback with him in our boyhood days, and lived again for the fleetingminutes the life we had lived in common; and the resolve grew strongeron me that his fate should be avenged. 

And yet a face came between me and the dead--a proud face, with varyingmoods reflected upon it, now gay, now scornful, now lighted withintelligence and mirth, now blazing with anger. But it was powerless toshake my resolve. Not even Luella Knapp should stand between me andvengeance. 

"There's the place, " said the undertaker, pointing to the vault. "I'llhave it opened directly. "

The scene was in accord with my feelings. The gray day gave a somberair to the trees and flowers that grew about. The white tombstones andoccasional monuments to be seen were sad reminders of mortality. 

Below me stretched the city, half-concealed by the magic drapery of thefog that streamed through it, turning it from a place of wood and stoneinto a fantastic illusion, heavy with gloom and sorrow. 

It was soon over. The body of Henry Wilton was committed to the vaultwith the single mourner looking on, and we drove rapidly back in thefailing light. 

I had given my address at the undertaker's shop, and the hack stoppedin front of my house of mystery before I knew where we were. Darknesshad come upon the place, and the street-lamps were alight and the gaswas blazing in the store-windows along the thoroughfares. As I steppedout of the carriage and gazed about me, I recognized the gloomy doorwayand its neighborhood that had greeted me on my first night in SanFrancisco. 

As I was paying the fare, a stout figure stepped up to me. 

"Ah, Mr. Wilton, it's you again. "

I turned in surprise. It was the policeman I had met on my first nightin San Francisco. 

"Oh, Corson, how are you?" I said heartily, recognizing him at last. Ifelt a sense of relief in the sight of him. The place was not one toquiet my nerves after the errand from which I had just come. 

"All's well, sor, but I've a bit of paper for ye. " And after somehunting he brought it forth. "I was asked to hand this to ye. "

I took it in wonder. Was there something more from Detective Coogan? Itore open the envelope and read on its inclosure:

 "Kum tonite to the house. Shure if youre life is wurth savein. 

 "Muther Borton. "

CHAPTER XIV

MOTHER BORTON'S ADVICE

I studied the note carefully, and then turned to Policeman Corson. 

"When did she give you this--and where?"

"A lady?" said Corson with a grin. "Ah, Mr. Wilton, it's too sly she isto give it to me. 'Twas a boy askin' for ye. 'Do you know him?' sayshe. 'I do that, ' says I. 'Where is he?' says he. 'I don't know, ' saysI. 'Has 'e a room?' says he. 'He has, ' says I. 'Where is it?' says he. 'What's that to you?' says I--"

"Yes, yes, " I interrupted. "But where did he get the note?"

"I was just tellin' ye, sor, " said the policeman amiably. "He shovesthe note at me ag'in, an' says he, 'It's important, ' says he. 'Go upthere, ' says I. 'Last room, top floor, right-hand side. ' Before I comesto the corner up here, he's after me ag'in. 'He's gone, ' says he. 'Likeenough, ' says I. 'When'll he be back?' says he. 'When the cows comehome, sonny, ' says I. 'Then there'll be the divil to pay, ' says he. Ipricks up my ears at this. 'Why?' says I. 'Oh, he'll be killed, ' sayshe, 'and I'll git the derndest lickin', ' says he. 'What's up?' says I, makin' a grab for him. But he ducks an' blubbers. 'Gimme that letter, 'says I, 'and you just kite back to the folks that sent you, and tellthem what's the matter. I'll give your note to your man if he comeswhile I'm on the beat, ' says I. I knows too much to try to git anythingmore out of him. I says to meself that Mr. Wilton ain't in the safestplace in the world, and this kid's folks maybe means him well, andmight know some other place to look for him. The kid jaws a bit, an'then does as I tells him, an' cuts away. That's half an hour ago, an'here you are, an' here's your letter. "

I hesitated for a little before saying anything. It was with quicksuspicion that I wondered why Mother Borton had secured again thatgloomy and deserted house for the interview she was planning. Thatmystery of the night, with its memories of the fight in the bar-room, the escape up the stair, the fearsome moments I had spent locked in thevacant place, came on me with nerve-shaking force. It was more likelyto be a trap than a meeting meant for my advantage. There was, indeed, no assurance that the note was written by Mother Borton herself. Itmight well be the product of the gentlemen who had been lending suchvariety to an otherwise uninteresting existence. 

All these considerations flashed through my mind in the seconds ofhesitation that passed before my reply to Policeman Corson's account. 

"That was very kind of you. You didn't know what was in the letterthen?"

"No, sor, " replied Corson with a touch of wounded pride. "It's not meas would open another man's letter, unless in the way of me duty. "

"Do you know Mother Borton?" I continued. 

"Know her? know her?" returned Corson in a tone scornful of doubt onsuch a point. "Do I know the slickest crook in San Francisco? Ah, it'smany a story I could tell you, Mr. Wilton, of the way that ould she-divil has slipped through our fingers when we thought our hands were onher throat. And it's many of her brood we have put safe in SanQuentin. "

"Yes, I suppose so, " said I dryly. "But the woman has done me aservice--saved my life, I may say--and I'm willing to forget the bad inher. "

"That's not for me to say, sor; but there's quare things happens, nodoubt. "

"This note, " I continued, "is written over her name. I don't knowwhether it came from her, or not; but if she sent it I must see her. Itmay be a case of life or death for me. "

"An' if it didn't come from her?" asked the policeman shrewdly. 

"Then, " said I grimly, "it's likely to be a case of death if I venturealone. "

"I'll tell you what, Mr. Wilton, " said Corson after a pause. "If you'llwait a bit, I'll go with you--that is, if there isn't somebody elseyou'd like better to have by your side to-night. You don't look to haveany of your friends about. "

"Just the thing, " I said heartily. "There's no one I'd rather have. We'll go down as soon as we can get a bite to eat. "

"I'll have to wait a bit, sor, till my relief comes. He'll be alongsoon. As for getting a bite, you can't do better than wait till you getto Mother Borton's. It's a rough place, but it's got a name for goodcooking. "

I was bewildered. 

"I guess there's not much to be got in the way of eating in the house. There was nothing left in it yesterday morning but the rats. " I spokewith considerable emphasis. 

"That's square, now, " he said, looking to see if there was a jestbehind the words. "But 'twas all there when McPherson and I put a clubto a drunk as was raising the Ould Nick in the place and smashing thebottles, not six hours ago. When we took him away in the ixpriss wagonthe ould woman was rowling out those long black curses in a way thatwould warm the heart of the foul fiend himself. "

There was some fresh mystery about this. I held my tongue with thereflection that I had better let it straighten itself out than risk astumble by asking about things I ought to know. 

Corson's relief soon appeared. "It's a nasty night, " he said, buttoningup his overcoat closely, as Corson gave him a brief report of thesituation on the beat. 

"It's good for them as likes it dark, " said Corson. 

"It's just such a night as we had when Donaldson was murdered. Do youmind it?"

"Do I mind it? Am I likely to forgit it? Well, a pleasant time to you, me boy. Come along, sor. We'd better be moving. You won't mind steppingup to the hall with me, will ye, while I report?"

"Certainly not, " I said with a shiver, half at the grim suggestion ofmurder and half at the chill of the fog and the cutting wind that blewthe cold vapor through to the skin. 

"You've no overcoat, " said Corson. "We'll stop and get one. I'll havemine from the station. "

The silence of the house of mystery was no less threatening now than onthe night when Henry Wilton was walking through the halls on the way tohis death. But the stout-hearted policeman by my side gave meconfidence, and no sign showed the presence of an enemy as I securedHenry's heavy overcoat and the large revolver he had given me, and wetook our way down the stairs. 

A short visit to the grimy, foul-smelling basement of the City Hall, where a few policemen looked at me wonderingly, a brisk walk with thecutting wind at our backs and the fog currents hurrying and whirling ineddies toward the bay, and I felt rather than saw that we were in theneighborhood of the scene of my adventures of a night that had come sonear costing me my life. I could not be certain of my bearings, but Itrusted to the unconscious guidance of Corson, with a confused ideathat we were bearing away from the place. Then with relief combinedwith bewilderment, I saw the lantern sign give forth its promise of thevaried entertainment that could be had at Borton's. 

"Here we are, " said Corson. 

We pushed open the door and entered. The place had the same appearanceas the one to which I had been taken by Dicky Nahl. 

"A fine night, Mother Borton, " said Corson cheerily, as he was thefirst to enter, and then added under his breath, "--for the divil'sbusiness. "

Mother Borton stared at him with a black look and muttered a curse. 

"Good evening, " I hastened to say. "I took the liberty to bring afriend; he doesn't come as an officer to-night. "

The effect on the hag's features was marvelous. The black scowllightened, the tight-drawn lips relaxed, and there was a sign ofpleasure in the bright eyes that had flashed hatred at the policeman. 

"Ah, it's you, is it?" she said sharply, but with a tone of kindness inher greeting. "I didn't see ye. Now sit down and find a table, and I'llbe with ye after a bit. "

"We want a dinner, and a good one. I'm half-starved. "

"Are ye, honey?" said the woman with delight. 

"Then it's the best dinner in town ye shall have. Here, Jim! Put thesegentlemen over there at the corner table. "

And if the cooking was not what we could have had at the Maison Dor�eand the service was a little off color, neither of us was disposed tobe critical. 

"It's not the aristocracy of stoile ye get here, " said Corson, lightinghis pipe after the coffee, "but it's prime eating. "

I nodded in lazy contentment, and then started up in remembrance of theoccasion of our being in this place as the shadow of Mother Borton fellacross the table. Her keen eyes fixed on me and her sharp beak noddingtoward me gave her the uncanny aspect of a bird of prey, and I felt asinking of courage as I met her glance. 

"If you will go upstairs, " she said sourly. "You know the way. I guessyour friend can spare you. "

"Is there anything that can't be told before him?" I asked. 

The features of the old woman hardened. 

"You'll be safer in my care than in his, " she said, with warning in hertone. 

"Yes, yes, I know I am safe here, but how is it with my friend if Ileave him here? We came together and we'll go together. "

The crone nodded with a laugh that ended in a snarl. 

"If the gang knew he was here there would be more fun than you saw theother night. "

"Don't worry about me, Mr. Wilton, " said Corson with a grin. "I'vestood her crowd off before, and I can do it again if the need comes. But I'd rather smoke a poipe in peace. "

"You can smoke in peace, but it's not yourself you can thank for it, "said Mother Borton sharply. "There'll be no trouble here to-night. Comealong. " And the old woman started for the door. 

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Corson in a low voice. "There'smen gone up those stairs that came down with a sheet over them. "

"It's all right--that is, unless there's any danger to you in leavingyou here. "

"No. Go ahead. I'll wait for ye. I'd as lief sit here as anywheres. "

I hastened after Mother Borton, who was glowering at me from thedoorway, and followed her footsteps in silence to the floor above. There was a dim light and a foul smell in the upper hall, both of whichcame from a lamp that burned with a low flame on a bracket by theforward stair. There were perhaps a dozen doors to be seen, all closed, but all giving the discomforting suggestion that they had eyes to markmy coming. 

Mother Borton walked the passage cautiously and in silence, and Ifollowed her example until she pushed open a door and was swallowed upin the blackness. Then I paused on the threshold while she lighted acandle; and as I entered, she swiftly closed and locked the door behindme. 

"Sit down, " she said in a harsh voice, motioning me to a chair by thestand that held the candle. Then this strange creature seated herselfin front of me, and looked steadily and sternly in my face for a fullminute. The gaze of the piercing, deep-sunken eyes of the old hag, theevil lines that marked the lean, sharp features, gaining a still moresinister meaning from the wavering, flickering light thrown upon herface by the candle, gave me a feeling of anything but ease in myposition. 

"What have you done that I should help you?" she broke forth in a harshvoice, her eyes still fixed on my face. 

"I really couldn't say, " I replied politely. "You have done me one ortwo services already. That's the best reason I know why you should dome another. "

The hard lines on the face before me relaxed at the sound of my voice, and the old woman nodded approvingly. 

"Ay, reason enough, I guess. Them as wants better can find itthemselves. But why did you sneak out of the house the other night likea cop in plain clothes? Didn't I go bail you were safe? Do you want anybetter word than mine?" she had begun almost softly, but the voice grewhigher and harsher as she went on. 

"Why, " I said, bewildered again, "the house sneaked away from me--or, at least you left me alone in it. "

"How was that?" she asked grimly. And I described graphically myexperience in the deserted building. 

As I proceeded with my tale an amused look replaced the harsh lines ofsuspicion on Mother Borton's face. 

"Oh, my lud!" she cried with a chuckle. "Oh, my lud! how very green youare, my boy. Oh ho! oh ho!" And then she laughed an inward, self-consuming laugh that called up anything but the feeling of sympatheticmirth. 

"I'm glad it amuses you, " I said with injured dignity. 

"Oh, my liver! Don't you see it yet? Don't you see that you climbedinto the next house back, and went through on to the other street?" Andshe relapsed into her state of silent merriment. 

I felt foolish enough as the truth flashed over me. I had lost my senseof direction in the strange house, and had been deceived by theresemblance of the ground plan of the two buildings. 

"But what about the plot?" I asked. "I got your note. It's veryinteresting. What about it?"

"What plot?"

"Why, I don't know. The one you wrote me about. "

Mother Borton bent forward and searched my face with her keen glance. 

"Oh, " she said at last, "the one I wrote you about. I'd forgotten it. "

This was disheartening. How could I depend on one whose memory was thuscapricious?

"Yes, " said I gloomily; "I supposed you might know something about it. "

"Show me the note, " she said sharply. 

I fumbled through my pockets until I found it. Mother Borton clutchedit, held it up to the candle, and studied it for two or three minutes. 

"Where did you get it?"

I described the circumstances in which it had come into my possession, and repeated the essentials of Corson's story. Mother Borton's sharp, evil face was impassive during my recital. When it was done shemuttered:

"Gimme a fool for luck. " Then she appeared to consider for a minute ormore. 

"Well?" said I inquiringly. 

"Well, honey, you're having a run of the cards, " she said at last. "Between having the message trusted to a fool boy, and having a cop foryour friend, an' maybe gitting this note before you're expected to, you're setting here genteel-like having agreeable conversation alongwith me, instead of being in company you mightn't like so well--ormaybe floating out toward Fort Point. "

"So you didn't write it?" I said coolly. "I had an idea of the kind. That's why my friend Corson is smoking his pipe down stairs. "

Mother Borton gave me a pleased look and nodded. I hoped I had made herregret the cruel insinuation in her application of the proverb to me asthe favorite of fortune. 

"I see, " I said. "I was to be waylaid on the road here and killed. "

"Carried off, more likely. I don't say as it wouldn't end in killin'ye. But, you see, you'd be of mighty small use in tellin' tales if youwas dead; but you might be got to talk if they had ye in a quietplace. "

"Good reasoning. But Henry Wilton was killed. "

"Yes, " admitted Mother Borton; "they thought he carried papers, andmaybe they ain't got over the idea yit. It's jest as well you're hereinstid of having a little passear with Tom Terrill and Darby Meeker andtheir pals. "

"Well, " said I, as cheerfully as I could under the depressingcircumstances, "if they want to kill me, I don't see how I can keepthem from getting a chance sooner or later. "

Mother Borton looked anxious at this, and shook her head. 

"You must call on your men, " she said decidedly. "You must haveguards. "

"By the way, " I said, "that reminds me. The men haven't been paid, andthey're looking to me for money. "

"Who's looking to you for money?"

"Dicky Nahl--and the others, I suppose. "

"Dicky Nahl?"

"Why, yes. He asked me for it. "

"And you gave it to him?" she asked sharply. 

"No-o--that is, I gave him ten dollars, and told him he'd have to waitfor the rest. I haven't got the money from the one that's doing thehiring yet, so I couldn't pay him. "

Mother Borton gave an evil grin, and absorbed another inward laugh. 

"I reckon the money'll come all right, " said Mother Borton, recoveringfrom her mirth. "There's one more anxious than you to have 'em paid, and if you ain't found out you'll have it right away. Now for guards, take Trent--no, he's hurt. Take Brown and Porter and Barkhouse andFitzhugh. They're wide-awake, and don't talk much. Take 'em two andtwo, and never go without 'em, night or day. You stop here to-night, and I'll git 'em for you to-morrow. "

I declined the proffered hospitality with thanks, and as a compromiseagreed to call for my bodyguard in the early morning. Rejoining Corson, I explained Mother Borton's theory of the plot that had brought methither. 

"She's like to be right, " said the policeman. "She knows the gang. Now, if you'll take my advice, you'll let the rats have your room for thisnight, and come along up to some foine hotel. "

The advice appeared good, and fifteen minutes later Corson was drinkingmy health at the Lick House bar, and calling on the powers of light anddarkness to watch over my safety as I slept. 

Whether due to his prayers or not, my sleep was undisturbed, even bydreams of Doddridge Knapp and his charming but scornful daughter; andwith the full tide of life and business flowing through the streets inthe morning hours I found myself once more in Mother Borton's dingyeating-room, ordering a breakfast. 

Mother Borton ignored my entrance, and, perched on a high stool behindthe bar and cash-drawer, reminded me of the vulture guarding its prey. But at last she fluttered over to my table and took a seat opposite. 

"Your men are here, " she said shortly. And then, as I expressed mythanks, she warmed up and gave me a description by which I should knoweach and led me to the room where, as she said, they were "corralled. "

"By the way, " I said, halting outside the door, "they'll want somemoney, I suppose. Do you know how much?"

"They're paid, " she said, and pushed open the door before I couldexpress surprise or ask further questions. I surmised that she had paidthem herself to save me from annoyance or possible danger, and mygratitude to this strange creature rose still higher. 

The four men within the room saluted me gravely and with MotherBorton's directions in mind I had no hesitation in calling each by hisname. I was pleased to see that they were robust, vigorous fellows, andsoon made my dispositions. Brown and Barkhouse were to attend me duringdaylight, and Fitzhugh and Porter were to guard together at night. And, so much settled, I hastened to the office. 

No sign of Doddridge Knapp disturbed the morning, and at the noon hourI returned to the room in the house of mystery that was still my onlyfixed abode. 

All was apparently as I had left it, except that a letter lay on thetable. 

"I must get a new lock, " was my comment, as I broke the seal. "Thisplace is getting too public when every messenger has a key. " I wascertain that I had locked the door when Corson and I had come out onthe evening before. 

The letter was from my unknown employer, and read:

"Richmond has paid the men. Be ready for a move at any moment. Leaveyour address if you sleep elsewhere. "

And now came three or four days of rest and quiet after the merry lifeI had been leading since my arrival in San Francisco. 

No word did I get from Doddridge Knapp. I kept close watch of the stockmarket, and gossiped with speculators and brokers, for I wished to knowat once if he had employed another agent. My work would lie in anotherdirection if such should prove to be the case. But there was nomovement in Omega, and I could hear no hint of another deal that mightshow a trace of his dexterous hand. "Quiet trading, " was the reportfrom all quarters. 

"Fact is, " said Wallbridge on the fourth day, trying to look doleful, "I haven't made enough this week to pay for the gas--and I don't burnany. "

In the interval I improved my time by getting better acquainted withthe city. Emboldened by my body-guard, I slept for two nights inHenry's room, and with one to watch outside the door, one lying on amattress just inside, and a new lock and bolt, I was free fromdisturbance. 

Just as I had formed a wild idea of looking up Doddridge Knapp in hishome, I came to the office in the morning to find the door into Room 16wide open and the farther door ajar. 

"Come in, Wilton, " said the voice of the King of the Street; and Ientered his room to find him busied over his papers, as though nothinghad occurred since I had last met him. 

"The market has had something of a vacation. " I ventured, as he failedto speak. 

"I have been out of town, " he said shortly. "What have you done?"

"Nothing. "

He gave a grunt of assent. 

"You didn't expect me to be buying up the market, did you?" The yellow-gray mustache went up, and the wolf-fangs gleamed from beneath. 

"I reckon it wouldn't have been a very profitable speculation, " hereplied. 

Then he leaned back in his chair and looked meditatively at the wall. 

"It was for one fellow, though, " he continued, mellowing as he mused inhis recollections. "It was at the time of the Honest Injun deal--Iguess you don't remember that. It must have been ten years ago. Well, Ihad a fellow named--why, what was his name?--oh, Riggs, or Rix, Iforget which, --and he was handling about a hundred thousand dollars forme. We had Honest Injun run up from one dollar till it was over twentydollars a share. I had to go up to Nevada City, and left ten thousandshares with him with orders to sell at twenty-five. "

"Yes, " I said, as the King of the Street paused and seemed inclined todrop the story. "At twenty-five. "

"Well, " he continued at this encouragement, "when I came back, HonestInjun was down to ten cents, or somewhere around there, which was justabout as I expected. Riggs comes up to me as proud as a spotted pup, and tells me that he'd sold at thirty dollars, and cleared fiftythousand more than I'd expected. "

"A pretty good deal, " I suggested. 

"It happened that way, but it wouldn't happen so once in ten years. Thestock had gone up to thirty-one or thirty-two before it broke, and hehad sold just in time. "

"Did he get a reward?" I asked, as my employer appeared to wait for anobservation from me. 

"He did, " said the Wolf with a growl. "I discharged him on the spot. And hanged if I didn't tell him that the fifty thousand was his--andlet him have it, too. Oh, he was playing in great luck! Thatcombination wouldn't come twice in a thousand years. The next man whotried it went to jail, " he added with a snap of the jaws. 

"Quite correct, " I said. "Orders must be obeyed. "

"Just remember that, " he said significantly. "Have you heard anythingmore of Decker?"

"I've heard enough to satisfy me that he's the man who got the Omegastock. "

"What other deal is he in?" asked the King of the Street. 

"I don't know. "

The King of the Street smiled indulgently. 

"Well, you've got something to learn yet. I'll give you till next weekto find the answer to that question. "

I was convinced from his air that he had information on both thesepoints himself, and was merely trying my knowledge. 

"I'll not be back before next Wednesday, " he concluded. 

"Going away again?" I asked in surprise. 

"I'm off to Virginia City, " he replied after considering for a little. "I'm not sure about Omega, after all--and there's another one I want tolook into. You needn't mention my going. When I come back we'll have acampaign that will raise the roof of every Board in town. No orderstill then unless I telegraph you. That's all. "

The King of the Street seemed straightforward enough in his statementof plans, and it did not occur to me to distrust him while I was in hispresence. Yet, once more in my office, with the locked door between, Ibegan to doubt, and tried to find some hidden meaning in each word andlook. What plan was he revolving in that fertile brain? I could notguess. The mystery of the great speculator was beyond my power tofathom. And we worked, each in ignorance of the other's purposes, andwent the appointed road. 

CHAPTER XV

I AM IN THE TOILS

"Welcome once more, Mr. Wilton, " said Mrs. Doddridge Knapp, holding outher hand. "Were you going to neglect us again?"

"Not at all, madam, " said I with unblushing mendacity. "I am always atyour command. "

Mrs. Knapp bowed with regal condescension, and replied with suchintimations of good will that I was glad I had come. I had vowed Iwould never set foot again in the place. The hot blood of shame hadburned my cheeks whenever I recalled my dismissal from the lips of thedaughter of the house. But I had received a letter from Mrs. Bowser, setting forth that I was wanted at the house of Doddridge Knapp, andher prolixity was such that I was unable to determine whether she, orMrs. Knapp, or Luella, wished to see me. But as all three appeared tobe concerned in it I pocketed pride and resentment, and made my bowwith some nervous quavers at the Pine Street palace. 

As I was speaking I cast my eyes furtively about the room. Mrs. Knappinterpreted my glance. 

"She will be in presently. " There was to my ear a trace of mockinglaughter in her voice as she spoke, but her face betokened only acourteous interest. 

"Thanks--I hope so, " I said in a little confusion. I wished I knewwhether she meant Luella or Mrs. Bowser. 

"You got the note?" she asked. 

"It was a great pleasure. "

"Mrs. Bowser wished so much to see you again. She has been singing yourpraises--you were such an agreeable young man. "

I cursed Mrs. Bowser in my heart. 

"I am most flattered, " I said politely. 

There was a mischievous sparkle in Mrs. Knapp's eye, but her face wasserenely gracious. 

"I believe there was some arrangement between you about a trip to seethe sights of Chinatown. Mrs. Bowser was quite worried for fear you hadforgotten it, so I gave her your address and told her to write you anote. "

I had not been conscious of expecting anything from my visit, but atthis bit of information I found that I had been building air-castleswhich had been invisible till they came tumbling about my ears. I couldnot look for Miss Knapp's company on such an expedition. 

"Oh, " said I, with an attempt to conceal my disappointment, "the matterhad slipped my mind. I shall be most happy to attend Mrs. Bowser, or tosee that she has a proper escort. "

We had been walking about the room during this conversation, and atthis point had come to an alcove where Mrs. Knapp motioned me to aseat. 

"I may not get a chance to talk with you alone again this evening, " shecontinued, dropping her half-bantering tone, "and you come so littlenow. What are you doing?"

"Keeping out of mischief. "

"Yes, but how?" she persisted. "You used to tell me everything. Now youtell me nothing. "

"Mr. Knapp's work--" I began. 

"Oh, of course I don't expect you to tell me about that. I know Mr. Knapp, and you're as close-mouthed as he, even when he's away. "

"I should tell you anything of my own, but, of course, another's--"

"I understand. " Mrs. Knapp, sitting with hands clasped in her lap, gaveme a quick look. "But there was something else. You were telling meabout your adventures, you remember. You told me two or three weeks agoabout the way you tricked Darby Meeker and sent him to Sierra City. "And she smiled at the recollection of Darby Meeker's discomfiture. 

"Oh, yes, " I said, with a laugh that sounded distressingly hollow to myears. "That was a capital joke on Meeker. "

Here was a fine pack of predicaments loosed on my trail. It was with aneffort that I kept my countenance, and the cold sweat started on myforehead. How much had Henry told of his business? Had he touched on itlightly, humorously, or had he given a full account of his adventuresto the wife of the man with whose secrets he was concerned, and whoseevil plans had brought him to his death? The questions flashed throughmy mind in the instant that followed Mrs. Knapp's speech. 

"How did it turn out?" asked Mrs. Knapp with lively interest. "Did heget back?"

I decided promptly on a judicious amount of the truth. 

"Yes, he got back, boiling with wrath, and loaded to the guards withthreats--that is, I heard so from my men. I didn't see him myself, oryou might have found the rest of it in the newspaper. "

"What did he do? Tell me about it. " Mrs. Knapp gave every evidence ofabsorbed interest. 

"Well, he laid a trap for me at Borton's, put Terrill in as advanceguard, and raised blue murder about the place. " And then I went on togive a carefully amended account of my first night's row at Borton's, and with an occasional question, Mrs. Knapp had soon extorted from me afairly full account of my doings. 

"It is dreadful for you to expose yourself to such dangers. "

I was privately of her opinion. 

"Oh, that's nothing, " said I airily. "A man may be killed any day by abrick falling from a building, or by slipping on an orange peel on thecrossing. "

"But it is dreadful to court death so. Yet, " she mused, "if I were aman I could envy you your work. There is romance and life in it, aswell as danger. You are doing in the nineteenth century and in themidst of civilization what your forefathers may have done in the daysof chivalry. "

"It is a fine life, " I said dryly. "But it has its drawbacks. "

"But while you live no one can harm the child, " she said. There wasinquiry in her tone, I thought. 

I suppressed a start of surprise. I had avoided mention of the boy. Henry had trusted Mrs. Knapp further than I had dreamed. 

"He shall never be given up by me, " I replied with conviction. 

"That is spoken like a true, brave man, " said Mrs. Knapp with anadmiring look. 

"Thank you, " I said modestly. 

"Another life than yours depends on your skill and courage. That mustgive you strength, " she said softly. 

"It does indeed, " I replied. I was thinking of Doddridge Knapp's life. 

"But here come Luella and Mrs. Bowser, " said Mrs. Knapp. "I see I shalllose your company. "

My heart gave a great bound, and I turned to see the queenly grace ofLuella Knapp as she entered the room in the train of Mrs. Bowser. 

Vows of justice and vengeance, visions of danger and death, faded awayas I looked once more on the mobile, expressive face of the girl whohad claimed so great a share of my waking thoughts and filled my dreamsfrom the first moment her spirit had flashed on mine. I rose and myeyes followed her eagerly as I stood by the curtain of the alcove, oblivious of all else in the room. 

Was it fancy, or had she grown paler and thinner since I had last seenher? Surely those dark hollows under her eyes that told of worry andlost sleep were not there when her brightness had chained myadmiration. I could guess that she was grieving for Henry, and ajealous pang shot through my heart. She gave no glance in my directionas she walked into the room and looked about her. I dreaded her eye asI hungered for a look. 

"Luella!" called Mrs. Knapp. I fancied she gave a low, musical laugh asshe spoke, yet a glance showed me that her face was calm and serious. "Luella, here is some one you will like to see. "

Luella Knapp turned and advanced. What was the look that lighted up herface and sparkled from her eyes? Before I could analyze the magneticthrill that came from it, it was gone. A flush passed over her face anddied away as she came. 

"You honor our poor house once more?" she said, dropping a mockcourtesy. "I thought you had deserted us. "

I was surprised at this line of attack, and for a moment my little armyof ideas was thrown into confusion. I felt, rather than heard, theundertone that carried the real meaning of her words. 

"Not I, " said I stoutly, recovering myself, and holding out my hand. Isaw there was a little play to be carried on for the benefit of Mrs. Knapp. For some reason she had not confided in her mother. "Not I. I amalways your very humble knight. "

I saw that Mrs. Knapp was looking at us curiously, and pressed myadvantage. Luella took my hand unwillingly. I was ready to dare a gooddeal for the clasp of her fingers, but I scarcely felt the thrill oftheir touch before she had snatched them away. 

"There's nothing but pretty speeches to be had from you--and quotationsat that, " she said. There was malice under the seeming innocence of apretended pout. 

"There's nothing that could be so becoming in the circumstances. "

"Except common sense, " frowned Luella. 

"The most uncommon of qualities, my dear, " laughed Mrs. Knapp. "Sitdown, children. I must see to Mr. Carter, who is lost by the porti�reand will never be discovered unless I rescue him. "

"Take him to dear Aunt Julia, " said Luella as her mother left us. 

"Dear Aunt Julia, " I inferred, was Mrs. Bowser. 

I was certain that Mr. Carter would not find the demands ofconversation too much for him if he was blest with the company of thatcharming dame. 

Luella took a seat, and I followed her example. Then, with chin in handand elbow on the arm of her chair, the young woman looked at me calmlyand thoughtfully. 

I grew a little uncomfortable as my self-possession melted away beforethis steady gaze. I had no observations to make, being uncertain aboutthe weather, so I had the prudence to keep silent. 

"Well, " said Luella at last, in a cutting voice, "why don't you talk?"

"It's your lead, " said I gloomily. "You took the last trick. "

At this reference to our meeting, Luella looked surprised. Then shegave a little rippling laugh. 

"Really, " she said, "I believe I shall begin to like you, yet. "

"That's very kind of you; but turn about is fair play. "

"You mustn't do that, " said she severely, "or I shan't. "

"I meant it, " said I defiantly. 

"Then you ought to know better than to say it, " she retorted. 

"I'm in need of lessons, I fear. "

"How delightful of you to confess it! Then shall I tell you what todo?"

This was very charming. I hastened to say:

"Do, by all means. "

The young woman sank back in her chair, clasped her hands in her lap asher mother had done, and glanced hastily about. Then in a low voice shesaid:

"Be yourself. "

It was an electric shock she gave me, not more by the words than by thetone. 

I struggled for a moment before I regained my mental balance. 

"Don't you think we could get on safer ground?" I suggested. 

"No, " said Luella. "There isn't any safe ground for us otherwise. "

The sudden heart-sickness at the reminder of my mission with whichthese words overwhelmed me, tied my tongue and mastered my spirits. Itwas this girl's father that I was pursuing. It was to bring him to thehalter that I must keep up my masquerade. It was to bring her to sorrowand disgrace that I was bound by the dead hand of my murdered friend. Oh, why was this burden laid upon me? Why was I to be torn on the rackbetween inclination and duty?

Luella watched my face narrowly through the conflict in my mind, and Ifelt as though her spirit struggled with mine to win me to the courseof open, honest dealing. But it was impossible. She must be the last ofall to know. 

Her eyes sank as though she knew which had won the victory, and aproud, scornful look took the place of the grave good humor that hadbeen there a moment before. Then, on a sudden, she began to speak ofthe theaters, rides, drives and what-not of the pleasures of the day. To an observer it would have seemed that we were deep in friendlydiscourse; but I, who felt her tone and manner, knew that she was milesaway from me and talking but for the appearance of courtesy. Suddenlyshe stopped with a weary look. 

"There's Aunt Julia waiting for you, " she said with a gleam ofmalicious pleasure. "Come along. I deliver you over a prisoner of war. "

"Wait a minute, " I pleaded. 

"No, " she said, imperiously motioning me. "Come along. " And with a sighI was given, a helpless, but silently protesting, captive, to themercies of Mrs. Bowser. 

That eloquent lady received me with a flutter of feathers, if I mayborrow the expression, to indicate her pleasure. 

"Oh, Mr. Wilton, you'll pardon my boldness, I'm sure, " she said with anamiable flirt of the head, as I seated myself beside her and watchedLuella melt away into the next room; "but I was afraid you hadforgotten all about us poor women, and it's a dreadful thing to be inthis great house when there isn't a man about, though of course thereare the servants, but you can't count them as men, besides some of thembeing Chinamen. And we--I--that is, I really did want to see you, andwe ought to have so much to talk over, for I've heard that yourmother's first cousin was a Bowser, and I do so want to see that dear, delightful Chinatown that I've heard so much about, though they do sayit's horrid and dirty, but you'll let us see that for ourselves, won'tyou, and did you ever go through Chinatown, Mr. Wilton?"

Mrs. Bowser pulled up her verbal coach-and-six so suddenly that I feltas though she must have been pitched off the box. 

"Oh, " said I carelessly, "I've seen the place often enough. "

"How nice!" Then suddenly looking grave, Mrs. Bowser spoke from behindher fan. "But I hope, Mr. Wilton, there's nothing there that a ladyshouldn't see. "

I hastened to assure her that it was possible to avoid everything thatwould bring a blush to the cheek of a matron of her years. 

Mrs. Bowser at this rattled on without coming to any point, and, afterwaiting to learn when she expected to claim my services, and seeing noprospect of getting such information without a direct question, Iallowed my eyes and attention to wander about the room, feeding theflow of speech, when it was checked, with a word or two of reply. Icould see nothing of Luella, and Mrs. Knapp appeared to be too muchtaken up with other guests to notice me. I was listening to the flow ofMrs. Bowser's high-pitched voice without getting any idea from it, whenmy wandering attention was suddenly recalled by the words, "Mr. Knapp. "

"What was that?" I asked in some confusion. "I didn't catch yourmeaning. "

"I was saying I thought it strange Mr. Knapp wouldn't go with us, andhe got awfully cross when I pressed him, and said--oh, Mr. Wilton, hesaid such a dreadful word--that he'd be everlastingly somethinged if hewould ever go into such a lot of dens of--oh, I can't repeat hisdreadful language--but wasn't it strange, Mr. Wilton?"

"Very, " I said diplomatically; "but it isn't worth while to wait forhim, then. "

"Oh, laws, no!--he'll be home to-morrow, but he won't go. "

"Home to-morrow!" I exclaimed. "I thought he wasn't to come tillWednesday. "

Mrs. Bowser looked a little uncomfortable. 

"I guess he's old enough to come and go when he likes, " she said. Buther flow of words seemed to desert her. 

"Very true, " I admitted. "I wonder what's bringing him back in such ahurry. "

Mrs. Bowser's beady eyes turned on me in doubt, and for a moment shewas dumb. Then she followed this miracle by another, and spoke in a lowtone of voice. 

"It's not for me to say anything against a man in his own house, but Idon't like to talk of Doddridge Knapp. "

"What's the matter?" I asked. "A little rough in his speech? Oh, Mrs. Bowser, you should make allowances for a man who has had to fight hisway in the roughest business life in the world, and not expect too muchof his polish. "

"Oh, laws, he's polite enough, " whispered Mrs. Bowser. "It ain't that--oh, I don't see how she ever married him. "

I followed the glance that Mrs. Bowser gave on interrupting herselfwith this declaration, and saw Mrs. Knapp approaching us. 

"Oh, " she exclaimed cheerily, "is it all settled? Have you made all thearrangements, Cousin Julia?"

"Well, I declare! I'd forgotten all about telling him, " cried Mrs. Bowser in her shrillest tone. "I'd just taken it for a fact that he'dknow when to come. "

"That's a little too much to expect, I'm afraid, " said Mrs. Knapp, smiling gaily at Mrs. Bowser's management. "I see that I shall have toarrange this thing myself. Will Monday night suit you, Henry?"

"As well as another, " said I politely, concealing my feelings as avictim of feminine diplomacy. 

"You have told him who are going, haven't you?" said Mrs. Knapp to Mrs. Bowser. 

"Laws, no! I never thought but what he knew. "

"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Knapp. "What a gift as a mind-reader Mr. Wiltonought to have! Well, I suppose I'd better not trust to that, Henry. There's to be Mrs. Bowser, of course, and Mr. And Mrs. Carter, and Mr. Horton, and--oh, yes--Luella. "

My heart gave a jump, and the trip to Chinatown suddenly became anobject of interest. 

"I, mama?" said an inquiring voice, and Luella herself stood by hermother. 

"Yes, " said Mrs. Knapp. "It's the Chinatown expedition for Mondaynight. "

Luella looked annoyed, and tapped her foot to the floor impatiently. 

"With Mr. Wilton, " there was the slightest emphasis on the words, "toaccompany the party, I shouldn't think it would be necessary for me togo. "

"It is either you or I, " said Mrs. Knapp. 

"You will be needed to protect Mr. Horton, " said I sarcastically. 

"Oh, what a task!" she said gaily. "I shall be ready. " And she turnedaway before I could put in another word, and I walked down the roomwith Mrs. Knapp. 

"And so Mr. Knapp is coming home to-morrow?" I said. 

Mrs. Knapp gave me a quick look. 

"Yes, " she said. There was something in her tone that set me tothinking that there was more than I knew behind Mr. Knapp's suddenreturn. 

"I hope he is not ill, " I said politely. 

Mrs. Knapp appeared to be considering some point deeply, and did notanswer for a little. Then she shook her head as though the idea was notto her liking. 

"I think you will find him all right when you see him. But here--youmust meet Mr. And Mrs. Carter. They are just from the East, and verycharming people, and as you are to do them the honors on Mondayevening, you should know them. "

Mr. And Mrs. Carter had pleasant faces and few ideas, and as theconversational fire soon burned low I sought Mrs. Knapp and took myleave. Luella was nowhere to be seen. 

"You must be sure that you are well-guarded, " said Mrs. Knapp. "Itquite gives me the terrors to think of those murderous fellows. Andsince you told me of that last plot to call you down to Borton's, Ihave a presentiment that some special danger is ahead of you. Becautious as well as brave. "

She had followed me into the hall, and spoke her warning freely. Therewas a sadness in her eyes that seemed as though she would dissuade mefrom my task. 

I thanked her as she pressed my hand, and, with no Luella awaiting meby the stair, I took my way down the stone steps, between the bronzelions, and joined Porter and Barkhouse on the sidewalk. 

CHAPTER XVI

AN ECHO OF WARNING

"All quiet?" I asked of my guards, as we took our way down the street. 

"All quiet, " said Porter. 

"You'd better tell him, " said Barkhouse. 

"Oh, yes, " said Porter, as if in sudden recollection. "Dicky Nahl wasalong here, and he said Terrill and Meeker and the other gang washolding a powwow at Borton's, and we'd best look out for surprises. "

"Was that all?"

"Well, he said he guessed there was a new deal on hand, and they was a-buzzin' like a nest of hornets. It was hornets, wasn't it, Bob?"

"Hornets was what he said, " repeated Barkhouse stolidly. 

"Where's Dicky now?" I asked. 

"I ain't good at guessing, " said Porter, "and Bob's nothing at all atit. "

"Well, " said I, "we had better go down to Borton's and look into thismatter. "

There was silence for a time. My guards walked beside me withoutspeaking, but I felt the protest in their manner. At last Barkhousesaid respectfully:

"There's no use to do that, sir. You'd better send some one that ain'tso likely to be nabbed, or that won't matter much if he is. We'd be ina pretty fix if you was to be took. "

"Here comes Dicky, now, " said Porter, as a dark figure came swinginglightly along. 

"Hullo!" cried Dicky, halting and shading his eyes from the gaslight. "I was just going up to look for you again. "

"What's up, Dicky?"

"I guess it's the devil, " said Dicky, so gravely that I broke into alaugh. 

"He's right at home if he's come to this town, " I said. 

"I'm glad you find it so funny, " said Dicky in an injured tone. "Youwas scared enough last time. "

I had put my foot in it, sure enough. I might have guessed that thedevil was not his Satanic Majesty but some evil-minded person in theflesh whom I had to fear. 

"Can it be Doddridge Knapp?" flashed across my mind but I dismissed thesuspicion as without foundation. I spoke aloud:

"Well, I've kept out of his claws this far, and it's no use to worry. What's he trying to do now?"

"That's what I've been trying to find out all the evening. They'renoisy enough, but they're too thick to let one get near where there'sanything going on--that is, if he has a fancy for keeping a wholeskin. "

"Suppose we go down there now, " I suggested. "We might find outsomething. "

Dicky stopped short. 

"C�sar's ghost!" he gasped; "what next? Wouldn't you like to touch offa few powder-kegs for amusement? Won't you fire a pistol into yourmouth to show how easy you can stop the bullet?"

"Why, you have been down there and are all right, " I argued. 

"Well, there's nothing much to happen to me, but where would you be ifthey got hold of you? You're getting off your _cabesa_, oldfellow, " said Dicky anxiously. 

"If I could see Mother Borton I could fix it, " I said confidently. 

"What! That she-devil?" cried Dicky. "She'd give you up to have yourthroat cut in a minute if she could get a four-bit piece for yourcarcass. I guess she could get more than that on you, too. "

Mother Borton's warnings against Dicky Nahl returned to me with forceat this expression of esteem from the young man, and I was filled withdoubts. 

"I came up to tell you to look out for yourself, " continued Dicky. "I'mafraid they mean mischief, and here you come with a wild scheme forgetting into the thick of it. "

"Well, I'll think better of it, " I said. "But see if you can find outwhat is going on. Come up and let me know if you get an inkling oftheir plans. "

"All right, " said Dicky. "But just sleep on a hair-trigger to-night. "

"Good night, " I said, as I turned toward my room, and Dicky, with ananswering word, took his way toward the Borton place. 

I had grown used to the silent terrors of my house. The weird fanciesthat clung around the gloomy halls and dark doorways still whisperedtheir threatening tales of danger and death. The air was still peopledwith the ghosts of forgotten crimes, and the tragedy of the alley thathad changed my life was heavy on the place. But habit, and theconfidence that had come to me with the presence of my guards, had madeit a tolerable spot in which to live. But as we stumbled up thestairway the apprehensions of Dicky Nahl came strong upon me, and Ilooked ahead to the murky halls, and glanced at every doorway, asthough I expected an ambush. Porter and Barkhouse marched stolidlyalong, showing little disposition to talk. 

"What's that?" I exclaimed, stopping to listen. 

"What was it?" asked Barkhouse, as we stopped on the upper landing andgazed into the obscurity. 

"I thought I heard a noise, " said I. "Who's there?"

"It was a rat, " said Porter. "I've heard 'em out here of nights. "

"Well, just light that other gas-jet, " I said. "It will help to makethings pleasant in case of accidents. "

The doors came out of the darkness as the second jet blazed up, butnothing else was to be seen. 

Suddenly there was a scramble, and something sprang up before my door. Porter and I raised the revolvers that were ready in our hands, butBarkhouse sprang past us, and in an instant had closed with the figureand held it in his arms. 

There was a volley of curses, oaths mingled with sounds that remindedme of nothing so much as a spitting cat, and a familiar voice screamedin almost inarticulate rage:

"Let me go, damn ye, or I'll knife ye!"

"Good heavens!" I cried. "Let her go, Barkhouse. It's Mother Borton. "

Mother Borton freed herself with a vicious shake, and called down thewrath of Heaven and hell on the stalwart guard. 

"You're the black-hearted spawn of the sewer rats, to take arespectable woman like a bag of meal, " cried Mother Borton indignantly, with a fresh string of oaths. "It's fire and brimstone you'll betasting yet, and you'd 'a' been there before now, you miserable gutter-picker, if it wasn't for me. And this is the thanks I git from ye!"

"I'll apologize for his display of gallantry, " said I banteringly. "I've always told him that he was too fond of the ladies. "

I was mistaken in judging that this tone would be the most effective torestore her to good humor. Mother Borton turned on me furiously. 

"Oh, it's you that would set him on a poor woman as comes to do you aservice. I was as wide-awake as any of ye. I never closed my eyes awink, and you has to come a-sneakin' up and settin' your dogs on me. "Mother Borton again drew on an apparently inexhaustible vocabulary ofoaths. "Oh, you're as bad as him, " she shouted, "and I reckon you'd beworse if you knowed how. " And she spat out more curses, and shook herfist in impotent but verbose rage. 

"Come in, " I said, unlocking the door and lighting up my room. "You canbe as angry as you like in here, and it won't hurt anything. "

Mother Borton stormed a bit, and then sullenly walked in and took achair. Silence fell on her as she crossed the threshold, but sheglowered on us with fierce eyes. 

"It's quite an agreeable surprise to see you, " I ventured as cheerfullyas I could, as she made no move to speak. My followers looked awkwardand uncomfortable. 

At the sound of my voice, Mother Borton's bent brows relaxed a little. 

"If you'd send these fellows out, I reckon we could talk a bit better, "she said sourly. 

"Certainly. Just wait in the hall, boys; and close the door. "

Porter and Barkhouse ambled out, and Mother Borton gave her chair ahitch that brought us face to face. 

"You ain't so bad off here, " she said, looking around critically. "Canany one git in them winders?"

I explained that the west window might be entered from the rearstairway by the aid of the heavy shutter, if it were swung back and thewindow were open. I added that we kept it closed and secured. 

"And you say there's a thirty-foot drop from this winder?" sheinquired, pointing to the north. 

I described the outlook on the alley. 

She nodded as if satisfied. 

"I reckon you don't think I come on a visit of perliteness?" she saidsharply, after a brief silence. 

I murmured something about being glad to entertain her at any time. 

"Nonsense!" she sniffed. "I'm a vile old woman that the likes of youwould never put eyes on twice if it wasn't for your business--noneknows it better than me. I don't know why I should put myself out tohelp ye. " Her tone had a touch of pathos under its hardness. 

"I know why, " I said, a little touched. "It's because you like me. "

She turned a softened eye on me. 

"You're right, " she said almost tenderly, with a flash of womanlyfeeling on her seamed and evil face. "I've took a fancy to ye and nomistake, and I'd risk something to help ye. "

"I knew you would, " I said heartily. 

"And that's what I come to do, " she said, with a sparkle of pleasurein her eye. "I've come to warn ye. "

"New dangers?" I inquired cheerfully. My prudence suggested that I hadbetter omit any mention of the warning from Dicky Nahl. 

"The same ones, " said Mother Borton shortly, "only more of 'em. "

Then she eyed me grimly, crouching in her chair with the appearance ofan evil bird of prey, and seemed to wait for me to speak. 

"What is the latest plot?" I asked gravely, as I fancied that my lightmanner grated on my strange guest. 

"I don't know, " she said slowly. 

"But you know something, " I argued. 

"Maybe you know what I know better than I knows it myself, " growledMother Borton with a significant glance. 

I resigned myself to await her humor. 

"Not at all, " said I carelessly. "I only know that you've come to tellme something, and that you'll tell it in your own good time. "

"It's fine to see that you've learned not to drive a woman, " shereturned with grim irony. "It's something to know at your age. "

I smiled sympathetically upon her, and she continued:

"I might as well tell ye the whole of it, though I reckon my throat'sjist as like to be slit over it as not. "

"I'll never breathe a word of it, " I replied fervently. 

"I'd trust ye, " she said. "Well, there was a gang across the street to-night--across from my place, I mean--and that sneaking Tom Terrill andDarby Meeker, and I reckon all the rest of 'em, was there. And they wasrunnin' back and forth to my place, and a-drinkin' a good deal, and themore they drinks the louder they talks. And I hears Darby Meeker say toone feller, 'We'll git him, sure!' and I listens with all my ears, though pretendin' to see nothin'. 'We'll fix it this time, ' he said;'the Old Un's got his thinkin' cap on. ' And I takes in every word, andby one thing and another I picks up that there's new schemes afoot totrap ye. They was a-sayin' as it might be an idee to take ye as youcome out of Knapp's to-night. "

"How did they know I was at Knapp's?" I asked, somewhat surprised, though I had little reason to be when I remembered the number of spieswho might have watched me. 

"Why, Dicky Nahl told 'em, " said Mother Borton. "He was with the gang, and sings it out as pretty as you please. "

This gave me something new to think about, but I said nothing. 

"Well, " she continued, "they says at last that won't do, fer it'll git'em into trouble, and I reckon they're argyfying over their schemesyit. But one thing I finds out. "

Mother Borton stopped and looked at me anxiously. 

"Well, " I said impatiently, "what was it?"

"They're a-sayin' as how, if you're killed, the one as you knows on'llhave to git some one else to look after the boy, and mebbe he won't beso smart about foolin' them. "

"That's an excellent idea, " said I. "If they only knew that I was theother fellow they could see at once what a bright scheme they had hitupon. "

"Maybe they ain't a-goin' to do it, " said Mother Borton. "There's aheap o' things said over the liquor that don't git no further, butyou'll be a fool if you don't look out. Now, do as I tell you. You justkeep more men around you. Keep eyes in the back of your head, and ifyou see there's a-goin' to be trouble, jest you shoot first and axquestions about it afterward. They talked of getting you down on thewater-front or up in Chinatown with some bogus message and said howeasy it would be to dispose of you without leaving clues behind 'em. Now, don't you sleep here without three or four men on guard, and don'tyou stir round nights with less than four. Send Porter out to git twomore men, and tell him to look sharp and see if the coast's clearoutside. I reckon I'll slide out if no one's lookin'. "

"I've got some men on the next floor, " I said. "I thought it would bejust as well to have a few around in case of emergencies. I'll have twoof them out, and send Porter to reconnoiter. "

"Who told you to git your men together?"

"A little idea of my own. "

"You've got some sense, after all. "

The reinforcements were soon ready to take orders, and Porter returnedto bring word that no suspicious person was in sight in the street. 

"I reckon I'd best go, then, " said Mother Borton. "I don't want noknife in me jest yit, but if there's no one to see me I'm all right. "

I pressed Mother Borton to take two of my men as escort, but shesturdily refused. 

"They'd know something was up if I was to go around that way, and I'dbe a bloody ghost as soon as they could ketch me alone, " she said. "Well, good night--or is it mornin'? And do take keer of yourself, dearie. " And, so saying, Mother Borton muffled herself up till it washard to tell whether she was man or woman, and trudged away. 

Whatever designs were brewing in the night-meeting of the conspirators, they did not appear to concern my immediate peace of body. The twofollowing days were spent in quiet, and, in spite of warnings, I beganto believe that no new plan of action had been determined on. 

"Don't you feel too sure of yourself, " said Dicky Nahl, to whom Iconfided this view of the situation. "You won't feel so funny about itif you get prodded in the ribs with a bowie some dark night, or findyour head wrapped up in a blanket when you think you're just taking a'passy-ar' in Washington Square in the evening. "

Dicky looked very much in earnest, and his bright and airy manner wasgone for the moment. 

"You seem to get along well enough with them, " I suggested tartly, remembering Mother Borton's stories with some suspicion. 

"Of course, " said Dicky. "Why shouldn't I? They're all right if youdon't rub the fur the wrong way. But I haven't got state secrets in mypockets, so they know it's no use to pick 'em. "

I was not at all sure of Dicky's fidelity, in spite of his seemingearnestness, but I forbore to mention my doubts, and left the garrulousyoung man to go his way while I turned to the office that had beenfurnished by Doddridge Knapp. I hardly expected to meet the King of theStreet. He had, I supposed, returned to the city, but he had setWednesday as the day for resuming operations in the market, and I didnot think that he would be found here on Monday. 

The room was cold and cheerless, and the dingy books in law-calfappeared to gaze at me in mute protest as I looked about me. 

The doors that separated me from Doddridge Knapp's room were shut andlocked. What was behind them? I wondered. Was there anything inDoddridge Knapp's room that bore on the mystery of the hidden boy, orwould give the clue to the murder of Henry Wilton? As I gazed on thepanels the questions became more and more insistent. Was it not my dutyto find the answer? The task brought my mind to revolt. Yet the thoughtgrew on me that it was necessary to my task. If vengeance was to bemine; if Doddridge Knapp was to pay the penalty of the gallows for thedeath of Henry Wilton, it must be by the evidence that I should wrestfrom him and his tools. I must not stop at rummaging papers, nor atlistening at keyholes. I had just this morning secured the key thatwould fit the first door. I had taken the impression of the lock andhad it made without definite purpose, but now I was ready to act. 

With a sinking heart but a clear head I put the key cautiously to thelock and gently turned it. The key fitted perfectly, and the bolt flewback as it made the circle. I opened the door into the middle room. Thesecond door, as I expected, was closed. Would the same key fit thesecond lock, or must I wait to have another made? I advanced to thesecond door and was about to try the key when a sound from behind itturned my blood to water. 

Beyond that door, from the room I had supposed to be empty, I heard agroan. 

I stood as if petrified, and, in the broad daylight that streamed in atthe window, with the noise and rush of Clay Street ringing in my ears, I felt my hair rise as though I had come on a ghost. I listened aminute or more, but heard nothing. 

"Nonsense!" I thought to myself; "it was a trick of the imagination. "

I raised my hand once more to the lock, when the sound broke again, louder, unmistakable. It was the voice of one in distress of body ormind. 

What was it? Could it be some prisoner of Doddridge Knapp's, broughthither by the desperate band that owned him as employer? Was it a manwhom I might succor? Or was it Doddridge Knapp himself, overwhelmed byrecollection and remorse, doing penance in solitude for the villainy hehad done and dared not confess? I listened with all my ears. Then therecame through the door the low, stern tones of a man's voice speakingearnestly, pleadingly, threateningly, but in a suppressed monotone. 

Then the groan broke forth again, and it was followed by sobs andchoked sounds, as of one who protested, yet, strangely, the voice wasthe same. There was one man, not two. It was self-accusation, self-excuse, and the sobs seemed to come in answer to self-reproaches. 

Then there was sound as of a man praying, and the prayer was broken bysobs; and again I thought there were two men. And then there was noiseof a man moving about, and a long smothered groan, as of one in agonyof spirit. Fearful that the door might be flung open in my face, Itiptoed back to my room, and silently turned the key, as thoroughlymystified as ever I had been in the strange events that had crowded mylife since I had entered the city. 

CHAPTER XVII

IN A FOREIGN LAND

I stood long by my own door, irresolute, listening, hoping, fearing, mybrain throbbing with the effort to seize some clue to the maze ofmysteries in which I was entangled. Was the clue behind those lockeddoors? Did the man whose groans and prayers had startled me hold theheart of the mystery?

The groans and prayers, if they continued, could be heard no longerthrough the double doors, and I seated myself by the desk and tookaccount of the events that had brought me to my present position. Wheredid I stand? What had I accomplished? What had I learned? How was I toreach the end for which I struggled and bring to justice the slayer ofmy murdered friend? As I passed in review the occurrences that hadcrowded the few weeks since my arrival, I was compelled to confess thatI knew little more of the mysteries that surrounded me than on thenight I arrived. I knew that I was tossed between two opposing forces. I knew that a mysterious boy was supposed to be under my protection, and that to gain and keep possession of him my life was sought anddefended. I knew that Doddridge Knapp had caused the murder of HenryWilton, and yet for some unfathomable reason gave me his confidence andemployment under the belief that I was Henry Wilton. But I had beenable to get no hint of who the boy might be, or where he was concealed, or who was the hidden woman who employed me to protect him, or why hewas sought by Doddridge Knapp. Mother Borton's vague hints seemedlittle better than guess-work. If she knew the name of the boy and theidentity of the woman, she had some good reason for concealing them. Itflashed over my mind that Mother Borton might herself be the mysteriousemployer. I had never yet seen a line of her handwriting, and the notesmight have come from her. It was she who first had told me that my menwere already paid, and a few hours later I had found the note from myemployer assuring me that the demands were fully settled. Could it bethat she was the woman with whom Doddridge Knapp was battling with adesperate purpose that did not stop at murder? The idea was gone assoon as it came. It was preposterous to suppose that these two couldfeel so overwhelming an interest in the same child. 

How long I sat by the desk waiting, thinking, planning, I know not. Onescheme of action after another I had considered and rejected, when asound broke on my listening ears. I started up in feverish anxiety. Itwas from the room beyond, and I stole toward the door to learn what itmight mean. 

Again it came, but, strain as I might, I could not determine its cause. What could be going on in the locked office? If two men were there wasit a personal encounter? If one man, was he doing violence uponhimself? Was the heart of the mystery to be found behind those doors ifI had the courage to throw them open? Burning with impatience, I thrustaside the fears of the evil that might follow hasty action. I had drawnthe key and raised it once more to the slot, when I heard a step in themiddle room. I had but time to retreat to my desk when a key was fittedin the lock, the door was flung open, and Doddridge Knapp steppedcalmly into the room. 

"Ah, Wilton, " said the King of the Street affably. "I was wondering ifI should find you here. "

There was no trace of surprise or agitation in the face before me. Ifthis was the man whose prayers and groans and sobs had come to methrough the locked door, if he had wrestled with his conscience or evenhad been the accusing conscience of another, his face was a mask thatshowed no trace of the agony of thoughts that might contort the spiritbeneath it. 

"I was attending to a little work of my own, " I answered, aftergreeting. If I felt much like a disconcerted pickpocket I was carefulto conceal the circumstance, and spoke with easy indifference. "Youhave come back before I expected you, " I continued carelessly. 

"Yes, " said the King of the Street with equal carelessness. "Somefamily affairs called me home sooner than I had thought to come. "

I had an inward start. Mrs. Knapp's troubled look, Mrs. Bowser'sconfusion, and the few words that had passed, returned to me. What wasthe connection between them?

"Mrs. Knapp is not ill, I trust?" I ventured. 

"Oh, no. "

"Nor Miss Knapp?"

"Oh, all are well at the house, but sometimes you know women-folks getnervous. "

Was it possible that Mrs. Knapp had sent for her husband? What othermeaning could I put on these words? But before I could pursue myinvestigations further along this line, the wolf came to the surface, and he waved the subject aside with a growl. 

"But this is nothing to you. What you want to know is that I won't needyou before Wednesday, if then. "

"Does the campaign reopen?" I asked. 

"If you don't mind, Wilton, " said the Wolf with another growl, "I'llkeep my plans till I'm ready to use them. "

"Certainly, " I retorted. "But maybe you would feel a little interest toknow that Rosenheim and Bashford have gathered in about a thousandshares of Omega in the last four or five days. "

Doddridge Knapp gave me a keen glance. 

"There were no sales of above a hundred shares, " he said. 

"No--most of them ran from ten to fifty shares. "

"Well, " he continued, looking fixedly at me, "you know something aboutRosenheim?"

"If it won't interfere with your plans, " I suggested apologetically. 

The Wolf drew back his lips over his fangs, and then turned the snarlinto a smile. "Go on, " he said, waving amends for the snub he hadadministered. 

"Well, I don't know much about Rosenheim, but I caught him talking withDecker. "

"Were the stocks transferred to Decker?"

"No; they stand to Rosenheim, trustee. "

"Well, Wilton, they've stolen a march on us, but I reckon we'll give'em a surprise before they're quite awake. "

"And, " I continued coolly, "Decker's working up a deal in Crown Diamondand toying a little with Confidence--you gave me a week to find out, you may remember. "

"Very good, Wilton, " said the King of the Street with grudgingapproval. "We'll sell old Decker quite a piece of Crown Diamond beforehe gets through. And now is there anything more in your pack?"

"It's empty, " I confessed. "Well, you may go then. "

I was puzzled to know why Doddridge Knapp should wish to get me out ofthe office. Was there some secret locked in his room that he feared Imight surprise if I stayed? I looked at him sharply, but there wasnothing to be read on that impassive face. 

Doddridge Knapp followed me to the door, and stood on the threshold asI walked down the hall. There was no chance for spying or listening atkeyholes, if I were so inclined, and it was not until I had reached thebottom stair that I thought I heard the sound of a closing door behindme. 

As I stood at the entrance, almost oblivious of the throng that washurrying up and down Clay Street, Porter joined me. 

"Did you see him?" he asked. 

"Him? Who?"

"Why, Tom Terrill sneaked down those stairs a little bit ago, and Ithought you might have found him up there. "

Could it be possible that this man had been with Doddridge Knapp, andthat it was his voice I had heard? This in turn seemed improbable, hardly possible. 

"There he is now, " whispered Porter. 

I turned my eyes in the direction he indicated, and a shock ran throughme; for my eye had met the eye of a serpent. Yes, there again was thecruel, keen face, and the glittering, repulsive eye, filled with maliceand hatred, that I had beheld with loathing and dread whenever it hadcome in my path. With an evil glance Terrill turned and made off in thecrowd. 

"Follow that man, Wainwright, " said I to the second guard, who wasclose at hand. "Watch him to-night and report to me to-morrow. "

I wondered what could be the meaning of Terrill's visit to thebuilding. Was it to see Doddridge Knapp and get his orders? Or was itto follow up some new plan to wrest from me the secret I was supposedto hold? But there was no answer to these questions, and I turnedtoward my room to prepare for the excursion that had been set for theevening. 

It was with hope and fear that I took my way to the Pine Street palace. It was my fear that was realized. Mrs. Bowser fell to my lot--indeed, Imay say that I was surrounded by her in force, and surrenderedunconditionally--while Luella joined Mr. Carter, and Mrs. Carter withMr. Horton followed. 

Corson was waiting for us at the old City Hall. I had arranged with thepoliceman that he should act as our guide, and had given him Porter andBarkhouse as assistants in case any should be needed. 

"A fine night for it, sor, " said Corson in greeting. "There's a littlecelebration goin' on among the haythens to-night, so you'll see 'em attheir best. "

"Oh, how sweet!" gushed Mrs. Bowser. "Is it that dear China New Yearthat I've heard tell on, and do they take you in to dinner at everyplace you call, and do they really eat rats? Ugh, the horrid things!"And Mrs. Bowser pulled up short in mid career. 

"No, ma'am, " said Corson, "leastways it ain't Chaney New Year for acouple of months yet. As for eatin' rats, there's many a thing getseaten up in the dens that would be better by bein' turned into a rat. "

Looking across the dark shrubbery of Portsmouth Square and upWashington Street, the eye could catch a line of gay-colored lanterns, swaying in the light wind, and casting a mellow glow on buildings andwalks. 

"Oh, isn't it sweet! So charming!" cried Mrs. Bowser, as we came intofull view of the scene and crossed the invisible line that carries onefrom modern San Francisco into the ancient oriental city, instinct withforeign life, that goes by the name of Chinatown. Sordid and foul as itappears by daylight, there was a charm and romance to it under thelantern-lights that softened the darkness. Windows and doors wereilluminated. Brown, flat-nosed men in loose clothing gathered in groupsand discussed their affairs in a strange singsong tongue and high-pitched voices. Here, was the sound of the picking of the Chinesebanjo-fiddle; there, we heard a cracked voice singing a melancholy songin the confusion of minor keys that may pass for music among the brownmen; there, again, a gong with tin-pan accompaniment assisted toreconcile the Chinese to the long intervals between holidays. Crowdshurried along the streets, loitered at corners, gathered about pointsof interest, but it seemed as though it was all one man repeated overand over. 

"Why, they're all alike!" exclaimed Mrs. Bowser. "How do they ever telleach other apart?"

"Oh, that's aisy enough, ma'am, " replied Corson with a twinkle in hiseye. "They tie a knot in their pigtails, and that's the way you know'em. "

"Laws! you don't say!" said Mrs. Bowser, much impressed. "I never couldtell 'em that way. "

"It is a strange resemblance, " said Mr. Carter. "Don't you find italmost impossible to distinguish between them?"

"To tell you the truth, sor, no, " said Corson. "It's a trick of the eyewith you, sor. If you was to be here with 'em for a month or two you'dniver think there was two of 'em alike. There's as much differencebetwixt one and another as with any two white men. I was loike you atfirst. I says to meself that they're as like as two pease. But, now, look at those two mugs there in that door. They're no more alike thanyou and me, as Mr. Wilton here can tell you, sor. "

The difference between the two Chinese failed to impress me, but I wasmindful of my reputation as an old resident. 

"Oh, yes; a very marked contrast, " I said promptly, just as I wouldhave sworn that they were twins if Corson had suggested it. 

"Very remarkable!" said Mr. Carter dubiously. 

In and out we wound through the oriental city--the fairy-land thatstretched away, gay with lanterns and busy with strange crowds, changing at times as we came nearer to a tawdry reality, cheap, dirty, and heavy with odors. Here was a shop where ivory in delicate carvings, bronze work that showed the patient handicraft and grotesque fancy ofthe oriental artist, lay side by side with porcelains, fine and coarse, decorated with the barbaric taste in form and color that rules the artof the ancient empire. Beyond, were carved cabinets of ebony andsandal-wood, rich brocades and soft silks and the proprietor sang thepraises of his wares and reduced his estimate of their value with eachstep we took toward the door. Next the rich shop was a low den fromwhose open door poured fumes of tobacco and opium, and in whose mistydepths figures of bloused little men huddled around tables and swayedhither and thither. The click of dominoes, the rattling of sticks andcounters, and the excited cries of men, rose from the throng. 

"They're the biggest gamblers the Ould Nick iver had to his hand, " saidCorson; "there isn't one of 'em down there that wouldn't bet the coatoff his back. "

"Dear me, how dreadful!" said Mrs. Bowser. "And do we have to go downinto that horrible hole, and how can we ever get out with our lives?"

"We're not going down there, ma'am, " interrupted Corson shortly. 

"And where next?" asked Luella. 

The question was addressed to the policeman, not to me. Except for aformal greeting when we had met, Luella had spoken no word to me duringthe evening. 

"Here's the biggest joss-house in town, " said Corson. "We might as wellsee it now as any time. "

"Oh, do let us see those delightfully horrible idols, " cried Mrs. Bowser. "But, " she added, with a sudden access of alarm at somerecollection of the reading of her school-days, "do they cut people'shearts out before the wicked things right in the middle of the city?"

The policeman assured her that the appetite of the joss for goreremained unsatisfied, and led the way into the dimly-lighted buildingthat served as a temple. 

I lingered a moment by the door to see that all my party passed in. 

"There's Wainwright, " whispered Porter, who closed the procession. 

"Where?" I asked, a dim remembrance of the mission on which I had senthim in pursuit of the snake-eyed man giving the information a sinistertwist. 

Porter gave a chirrup, and Wainwright halted at the door. 

"He's just passed up the alley here, " said Wainwright in a low voice. 

"Who? Terrill?" I asked. 

"Yes, " said Wainwright. "I've kept him in sight all the evening. "

"Hasn't he seen you?" asked Porter. "I spied you as soon as you turnedthe corner. "

"Don't know, " said Wainwright; "but something's up. There he goes now. I mustn't miss him. " And Wainwright darted off. 

I looked searchingly in the direction he took, but could see no sign ofthe snake-eyed enemy. 

The presence of Terrill gave me some tremors of anxiety, for I knewthat his unscrupulous ferocity would stop at nothing. I feared for themoment that some violence might threaten the party, and that perhapsLuella was in danger. Then I reflected that the presence of DoddridgeKnapp's daughter was a protection against an attack from DoddridgeKnapp's agents, and I followed the party into the heathen templewithout further apprehensions. 

The temple was small, and even in the dim, religious light that gave anair of mystery to the ugly figure of the god and the trappings of theplace, the whole appeared cheap--a poor representative of the majestyof a religion that claims the devotion of four hundred million humanbeings. 

"That's one of the richest carvings ever brought into this country, "said Corson, pointing to a part of the altar mounting. "Tin thousanddollars wouldn't touch one side of it. "

"You don't say!" cried Mrs. Bowser, while the rest murmured in theeffort to admire the work of art. "And is that stuff burning for adisinfectant?"

She pointed to numerous pieces of punk, such as serve the small boy onthe Fourth of July, that were consuming slowly before the ugly joss. 

"No, ma'am--not but they needs it all right enough, " said Corson, "butthat's the haythen way of sayin' your prayers. "

This information was so astonishing that Corson was allowed to finishhis explanation without further remarks from Mrs. Bowser. 

"I'll show you the theater next, " said he, as he led the way out of thetemple with Mrs. Bowser giving her views of the picturesque heathen inquestions that Corson found no break in the conversation long enough toanswer. As I lingered for a moment in some depression of spirit, waiting for the others to file out, a voice that thrilled me spoke inmy ear. 

"Our guide is enjoying a great favor. " It was Luella, noticing me forthe first time since the expedition had started. 

"He has every reason to be delighted, " I returned, brightening at thefavor I was enjoying. 

"Foreign travel is said to be of great value in education, " saidLuella, taking my arm, "but it's certainly stupid at times. "

I suspected that Mr. Carter had not been entirely successful in meetingMiss Knapp's ideas of what an escort should be. 

"I didn't suppose you could find anything stupid, " I said. 

"I am intensely interested, " she retorted, "but unfortunately the listof subjects has come to an end. "

"You might have begun at the beginning again. "

"He did, " she whispered, "so I thought it time he tried the guide orAunt Julia. "

"Thank you, " I said. 

"Thank him, you mean, " she said gaily. "Now don't be stupid yourself, so please change the subject. Do you know, " she continued withoutgiving me time to speak, "that the only way I can be reconciled to thisplace and the sights we have seen is to imagine I am in Canton orPeking, thousands of miles from home? Seen there, it is interesting, instructive, natural--a part of their people. As a part of SanFrancisco it is only vile. "

"Ugh!" said I, as a whiff from an underground den floated up on thenight air, and Luella caught her handkerchief to her face to get herbreath. "I'm not sure that this rose would smell any sweeter by thename of Canton. "

"I'm afraid your argument is too practical for me to answer, " shelaughed. "Yet I'm certain it would be more poetic seven thousand milesaway. "

"Come this way, " said Corson, halting with the party at one of thedoors. "I'll show you through some of the opium dens, and that willbring us to the stage door of the theater. "

"How close and heavy the air is!" said Luella, as we followed thewinding passage in the dim illumination that came from an occasionalgas-jet or oil lamp. 

"The yellow man is a firm believer in the motto, 'Ventilation is theroot of all evil, '" I admitted. 

The fumes of tobacco and opium were heavy on the air, and a momentlater we came on a cluster of small rooms or dens, fitted with couchesand bunks. It needed no description to make the purpose plain. Thewhole process of intoxication by opium was before me, from the heatingof the metal pipe to the final stupor that is the gift and end of theBlack Smoke. Here, was a coolie mixing the drug; there, just beyondhim, was another, drawing whiffs from the bubbling narcotic through thebamboo handle of his pipe; there, still beyond, was another, lying backunconscious, half-clad, repulsive, a very sorry reality indeed to thegorgeous dreams that are reputed to follow in the train of theseductive pipe. 

"Do they really allow them to smoke that dreadful stuff?" asked Mrs. Bowser shrilly. "Why, I should think the governor, or the mayor, oryou, Mr. Policeman, would stop the awful thing right off. Now, whydon't you?"

"Oh, it's no harm to the haythen, " said Corson. "It's death anddestruction to the white man, but it's no more to the yellow man thanso much tobacco and whiskey. They'll be all right to-morrow. We nivertouches 'em unless they takes the whites into their dens. Then we raids'em. But there's too much of it goin' on, for all that. "

"This is depressing, " said Luella, with a touch on my arm. "Let's goon. "

"Turn to the right there, " Corson called out, as we led the way whilehe was explaining to Mr. Carter the method of smoking. 

"Let us get where there is some air, " said Luella. "This odor issickening. "

We hastened on, and, turning to the right, soon came on two passages. One led up a stair, hidden by a turn after half a dozen steps. Theother stretched fifty or seventy-five feet before us, and an oil lampon a bracket at the farther end gave a smoky light to the passage andto a mean little court on which it appeared to open. 

"We had better wait for the rest, " said Luella cautiously. 

As she spoke, one of the doors toward the farther end of the passageswung back, and a tall heavy figure came out. My heart gave a greatbound, and I felt without realizing it at the moment, that Luellaclutched my arm fiercely. 

In the dim light the figure was the figure of the Wolf, the head wasthe head of the Wolf, and though no light shone upon it, the face wasthe face of the Wolf, livid, distorted with anger, fear and brutalpassions. 

"Doddridge Knapp!" I exclaimed, and gave a step forward. 

It flashed on me that one mystery was explained. I had found out whythe Doddridge Knapp of plot and counterplot, and the Doddridge Knappwho was the generous and confidential employer, could dwell in the samebody. The King of the Street was a slave of the Black Smoke, and, likemany another, went mad under the influence of the subtle drug. 

As I moved forward, Luella clung to me and gave a low cry. The Wolffigure threw one malignant look at us and was gone. 

"Take me home, oh, take me home!" cried Luella in low suppressed tones, trembling and half-falling. I put my arm about her to support her. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

She leaned upon me for one moment, and the black walls and gloomypassage became a palace filled with flowers. Then her strength andresolution returned, and she shook herself free. 

"Come; let us go back to the others, " she said a little unsteadily. "Weshould not have left them. "

"Certainly, " I replied. "They ought to be here by this time. "

But as we turned, a sudden cry sounded as of an order given. There wasa bang of wood and a click of metal, and, as we looked, we saw thatunseen hands had closed the way to our return. A barred and iron-bounddoor was locked in our faces. 

CHAPTER XVIII

THE BATTLE IN THE MAZE

For an instant I was overwhelmed with terror and self-reproach. Thebolted door before me gave notice of danger as plainly as though theword had been painted upon its front. The dark and lowering walls ofthe passage in which the Wolf figure of Doddridge Knapp had appearedand disappeared whispered threats. The close air was heavy with thesuggestion of peril, and the solitary lamp that gave its dim light fromthe end of the passage flashed a smoky warning. And I, in my folly andcarelessness, had brought Luella Knapp into this place and exposed herto the dangers that encircled me. It was this thought that, for themoment, unnerved me. 

"What does this mean?" asked Luella in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"It is a poor practical joke, I fear, " said I lightly. I took occasionto shift a revolver to my overcoat pocket. 

"Well, aren't you going to get me out of here?" she asked with a littlesuggestion of impatience. 

"That is my present intention, " I replied, beating a tattoo on thedoor. 

"You'll hurt your fists, " she said. "You must find some way besidesbeating it down. "

"I'm trying to bring our friends here, " said I. "They should have beenwith us before now. "

"Isn't there another way out?" asked Luella. 

"I suspect there are a good many ways out, " I replied, "but, unfortunately, I don't know them. " And I gave a few resounding kicks onthe door. 

"Where does this stairway go, I wonder?" said Luella. 

"Into the celestial regions, I suppose, " I ventured. 

Matters were in too serious a position for the jest to be appreciated, and Luella continued:

"It can't be the way out. Isn't there another?"

"We might try the passage. "

She gave a shudder and shrank toward me. 

"No, no, " she cried in a low voice. "Try the door again. Somebody musthear you, and it may be opened. "

I followed her suggestion with a rain of kicks, emphasized with a shoutthat made the echoes ring gloomily in the passage. 

I heard in reply a sound of voices, and then an answering shout, andthe steps of men running. 

"Are you there, Mr. Wilton?" cried the voice of Corson through thedoor. 

"Yes, all safe, " I answered. 

"Well, just hold on a bit, and we'll--"

The rest of his sentence was lost in a suppressed scream from Luella. Iturned and darted before her, just in time to face three Chineseruffians who were hastening down the passage. The nearest of the trio, a tall dark savage with a deep scar across his cheek, was just reachingout his hand to seize Luella when I sprang forward and planted a blowsquare upon his chin. He fell back heavily, lifted almost off his feetby my impact, and lay like a log on the floor. 

The other two ruffians halted irresolute for an instant, and I drew myrevolver. In the faint light of the passage I could scarcely see theirvillainous faces. The countenance of the coolie is not expressive atbest, but I could feel, rather than see, the stolid rascality of theirappearance. Their wish seemed to be to take me alive if possible. Aftera moment of hesitation there was a muttered exclamation and one of thedesperadoes drew his hand from his blouse. 

"Oh!" cried Luella. "He's got a knife!"

Before he could make another movement I fired once, twice, three times. There was a scramble and scuffle in the passageway, and the smokerolled thick in front, blotting out the scene that had stood insilhouette before us. 

Fearful of a rush from the Chinese, I threw one arm about Luella, and, keeping my body between her and possible attack, guided her to thestair that led upward at nearly right angles from the passage. She wastrembling and her breath came short, but her spirit had not quailed. She shook herself free as I placed her on the first step. 

"Have you killed them?" she asked quietly. 

"I hope so, " I replied, looking cautiously around the corner to see theresults of my fusillade. The smoke had spread into a thin haze throughthe passage. 

"There's one fellow there, " I said. "But it's the one I knocked down. "

"Can't you see the others?" inquired Luella. 

"No more in sight, " said I, after a bolder survey. "They've run away. "

"Oh, I'm glad, " said Luella. "I should have seen them always if you hadkilled them. "

"I shouldn't have minded giving them something to remember, " said I, vexed at my poor display of marksmanship, but feeling an innateconviction that I must have hit them. 

"What on earth did they attack us for?" exclaimed Luella indignantly. "We hadn't hurt anything. "

Before I could reply to Luella's question, a tattoo was beaten upon thedoor and a muffled shout came from the other side. I stepped down fromthe stair to listen. 

"Are you hurt?" shouted Corson. "What's the matter?"

"No damage, " I returned. "I drove them off. "

Corson shouted some further words, but they were lost in a suddenmurmur of voices and a scuffle of feet that arose behind. 

"Look out!" cried Luella peremptorily. "Come back here!"

I have said that the passage opened into a little court, and at the enda lamp gave light to the court and the passage. 

As I turned I saw a confusion of men pouring into the open space andheading for the passage. They were evidently Chinese, but in the gleamof the lamp I was sure I saw the evil face and snake-eyes of TomTerrill. He was wrapped in the Chinese blouse, but I could not bemistaken. Then with a chorus of yells there was the crack of a pistol, and a bullet struck the door close to my ear. 

It was all done in an instant. Before the sound of the shot I dropped, and then made a leap for the stair. 

"Oh!" cried Luella anxiously; "were you hit?"

"No, I'm all right, " I said, "but it was a close shave. The gang meansmischief. "

"Go up the stairs, and find a way out or a place to hide, " said Luellaexcitedly. "Give me the pistol. They won't hurt me. It's you they'reafter. Go, now. "

Her tone was the tone of the true daughter of the Wolf. 

"Thank you, Miss Knapp. I have a pressing engagement here with a lady, and I expect to meet Mr. Corson in a few minutes. "

I stooped on an impulse and kissed the back of her gloved hand, andmurmured, "I couldn't think of leaving. "

"Well, tell me something I can do, " she said. 

I gave her my smaller revolver. "Hand that to me when I want it, " Isaid. "If I'm killed, get up the stairs and defend yourself with it. Don't fire unless you have to. We are short of ammunition. " I had butthree shots in the large six-shooter. 

"Are they coming?" asked Luella, as the wild tumult of shouts stilledfor a moment and a single voice could be heard. 

I peered cautiously around the corner. 

"There's a gentleman in a billycock hat who's rather anxious to havethem lead the way, " I said; "but they seem to prefer listening tofighting. "

The gentleman whose voice was for war I discovered to be my snake-eyedfriend. He seemed to be having difficulty with the language, and waseking out his Pidgin-English with pantomime. 

"There!" cried Luella with a start; "what's that?"

A heavy blow shook the walls of the building and sounded through thepassage. 

"Good!" I said. "If our friends yonder are going to make trouble theymust do it at once. Corson's got an ax, and the door will be down firstthey know. "

"Thank Heaven!" whispered Luella. And then she began to tremble. 

The blows followed fast upon each other, but suddenly they were drownedin a chorus of yells, and a volley of revolver shots sent the bulletsspatting against the door. 

"Look out, Miss Knapp, " I said. "They're coming. Stand close behind me, and crouch down if they get this far. "

I could feel her straighten and brace herself once more behind me as Ibent cautiously around the corner. 

The band was advancing with a frightful din, but was making more noisethan speed. Evidently it had little heart for its job. 

I looked into the yelling mob for the snake-eyed agent of DoddridgeKnapp, but could not single him out. 

I dared wait no longer. Aiming at the foremost I fired twice at theadvancing assailants. There were shouts and screams of pain in answer, and the line hesitated. I gave them the remaining cartridge, and, seizing the smaller weapon from Luella, fired as rapidly as I couldpull the trigger. 

The effect was instantaneous. With a succession of howls and curses theband broke and ran--all save one man, who leaped swiftly forward with along knife in his hand. 

It would have gone hard with me if he had ever reached me, for he was alarge and powerful fellow, and my last shot was gone. But in the darkand smoky passage he stumbled over the prostrate body of the firstdesperado whom I had been fortunate enough to knock down, and fellsprawling at full length almost at my feet. 

With one leap I was on his back, and with a blow from the revolver Ihad quieted him, wrenched the knife from his hand, and had the pointresting on his neck. 

Luella gave a scream. 

"Oh!" she cried, "are you hurt?"

"No, " I said lightly, "but I don't think this gentleman is feeling verywell. He's likely to have a sore head for a day or two. "

"Come back here, " said Luella in a peremptory tone. "Those men may comeagain and shoot you. "

"I don't think so, " said I. "The door is coming down. But, anyhow, Ican't leave our friend here. Lie still!" I growled, giving the captivea gentle prod in the neck with the point of his knife to emphasize mydesire to have peace and quiet between us. 

I heard him swear under his breath. The words were foreign, but therewas no mistaking the sentiment behind them. 

"You aren't killing him are you?" inquired Luella anxiously. 

"I think it might be a service to the country, " I confessed, "but I'llsave him for the hangman. "

"You needn't speak so regretfully, " laughed Luella, with a littlereturn of her former spirit. "But here our people come. "

The ax had been plied steadily on the stubborn planks all through theconflict and its sequel. But the iron-bound beams and heavy lock hadbeen built to resist police raids, and the door came down withdifficulty. 

At last it was shaking and yielding, and almost as Luella spoke itswayed, bent apart, and broke with a crash, and with a babel of shoutsCorson, Porter, Barkhouse and Wainwright, with two more policemen, poured through the opening. 

"Praise the powers, you're safe!" cried Corson, wringing my hand, whilethe policemen took the prostrate Chinese in charge. "And is the younglady hurt?"

"No harm done, " said Luella. "Mr. Wilton is quite a general. "

"I can't think what's got into the scoundrelly highbinders, " saidCorson apologetically. "It's the first time I ever knew anything of thekind to happen. " And he went on to explain that while the Chinesedesperado is a devil to fight among his own kind, he does not interferewith the white man. 

I called my men aside and spoke sharply. 

"You haven't obeyed orders, " I said. "You, Porter, and you, Barkhouse, were to keep close by me to-night. You didn't do it, and it's only bygood luck that the young lady and I were not killed. You, Wainwright, were to follow Tom Terrill. I saw Terrill just now in a gang ofChinese, and you turn up on the other side of a barred door. "

Porter and Barkhouse looked sheepish enough, but Wainwright protested:

"I was following Terrill when he gets into a gang of highbinders, andgoes into one of these rooms over here a ways. I waits a while for him, and then starts to look around a bit, and first I knows, I runs upagainst Porter here hunting for an ax, and crazy as a loon, saying ashow you was murdered, and they had got to save you. "

"Well, just keep close to me for the rest of the night, and we'll sayno more about it. There's no great damage done--nothing but a soreknuckle. " I was feeling now the return effects of my blow on thecoolie's chin. I felt too much in fault myself to call my attendantsvery sharply to task. It was through me that Luella had come intodanger, and I had to confess that I had failed in prudence and had comenear to paying dear for it. 

"I don't understand this, Mr. Wilton, " said Corson in confidentialperplexity. "I don't see why the haythen were after yez. "

"I saw--I saw Tom Terrill, " said I, stumbling over the name ofDoddridge Knapp. I determined to keep the incident of his appearance tomyself. 

"I don't see how he worked it, " said Corson with a shake of the head. "They don't like to stand against a white man. It's a quare tale hemust have told 'em, and a big sack he must have promised 'em to bring'em down on ye. Was it for killin' ye they was tryin', or was they forcatchin' yez alive?"

"They were trying to take us alive at first, I think, but the bulletswhistled rather close for comfort. "

"I was a little shaky myself, when they plunked against the door, " saidCorson with a smile. 

"Oh, Mr. Wilton, " said Mrs. Bowser, "it was awful of you--for it was sofrightfully improper to get behind that locked door, to say nothing ofthrowing us all into conniptions with firing guns, and calling foraxes, and highbinders, and police, and Heaven knows what all--and whatare highbinders, Mr. Wilton? And it's a blessing we have our dearLuella safe with us again. I was near fainting all the time, and it's amercy I had a smelling bottle. "

"Dear Luella" looked distressed, and while Corson was attempting toexplain to Mrs. Bowser the nature of the blackmailing bands of theChinese criminal element, Luella said:

"Please get us out of this. I can't stand it. "

I had marveled at her calm amid the excited talk of those about her, but I saw now that it was forced by an effort of her will. She wassadly shaken. 

"Take my arm, " I said. "Mr. Corson will lead the way. " I signed toPorter to go ahead and to Barkhouse and Wainwright to follow me. "It'svery close here. "

"It's very ridiculous of me, " said Luella, with an hysterical laugh, "but I'm a little upset. "

"I dare say you're not used to it, " I suggested dryly. 

Luella gave me a quick glance. 

"No, are you? It's not customary in our family, " she said with anattempt at gaiety. 

I thought of the wolf-figure who had come out of the opium-den, and theface framed in the lantern-flash of the alley, and was silent. Perhapsthe thought of the scene of the passage had come to her, too, for sheshuddered and quickened her step as though to escape. 

"Do you want to go through the theater?" asked Corson. 

"No--no, " whispered Luella, "get me home at once. "

"We have seen enough sights for the evening, I believe, " said I. 

Mrs. Bowser was volubly regretful, but declined Corson's offer tochaperon her through a night of it. 

On the way home Luella spoke not a word, but Mrs. Bowser filled thetime with a detailed account of her emotions and sensations whileCorson and his men were searching for us and beating down the door. Andher tale was still growing when the carriage pulled up before thebronze lions that guarded the house of the Wolf, and I handed theladies up the steps. 

At the door Luella held out her hand impulsively. 

"I wish I knew whom to thank--but I do thank him--for my safety--perhaps for my life. Believe me--I am grateful to a brave man. "

I felt the warm clasp of her fingers for a moment, and then with aflash of her eyes that set my blood on fire she was gone, and I wasstaggering down Doddridge Knapp's steps in a tumult of emotions thatturned the dark city into the jeweled palaces of the genii peopled withangels. 

But there was a bitter in the sweet. "I wish I knew whom to thank. " Thebitter grew a little more perceptible as her phrases stamped themselveson my brain. I blessed and cursed at once the day that had brought meto her. 

CHAPTER XIX

A DEAL IN STOCKS

The wolf-face, seamed with hatred and anger, and hideous with evilpassions, that had glowered for a moment out of the smoky frame of theChinese den, was still haunting me as I forced myself once more toreturn to the office. Wednesday morning had come, and I was due to meetDoddridge Knapp. But as I unlocked the door, I took some comfort in thereflection that I could hardly be more unwilling to meet the Wolf thanhe must be to meet me. 

I had scarcely settled myself in my chair when I heard the key turn inthe lock. The door swung open, and in walked Doddridge Knapp. 

I had thought to find at least some trace of the opium debauch throughwhich I had gained the clue to his strange and contradictory acts--somemark of the evil passions that had written their story upon his face atthe meeting in the passage. But the face before me was a mask thatshowed no sign of the experiences through which he had passed. For allthat appeared, he might have employed the time since I had left heretwo days before in studying philosophy and cultivating peace and good-will with his neighbors. 

"Ah, Wilton, " he said affably, rubbing his hands with a purring growl. "You're ready for a hard day's work, I hope. "

"Nothing would please me better, " I said cheerfully, my repugnancemelting away with the magnetism of his presence. "Is the black flag uptoday?"

He looked at me in surprise for an instant and then growled, still ingood humor:

"'No quarter' is the motto to-day. " And I listened closely as the Kingof the Street gave his orders for the morning. 

I marveled at the openness and confidence with which he seemed to treatme. There was no trace nor suggestion in his demeanor to-day of the manwho sought my life by night. And I shuddered at the power of the BlackSmoke to change the nature of this man to that of a demon. He trustedme with secrets of his campaign that were worth millions to the market. 

"You understand now, " he said at the end of his orders, "that you areto sell all the Crown Diamond that the market will take, and buy allthe Omega that you can get below one hundred. "

"I understand. "

"We'll feed Decker about as big a dose as he can swallow, I reckon, "said the King of the Street grimly. 

"One thing, " I said, "I'd like to know if I'm the only one operatingfor you. "

The King of the Street drew his bushy brows down over his eyes andscowled at me a moment. 

"You're the only one in the big Board, " he said at last. "There are menin the other Boards, you understand. "

I thought I understood, and sallied forth for the battle. At DoddridgeKnapp's suggestion I arranged to do my business through three brokers, and added Lattimer and Hobart to Wallbridge, and Bockstein and Eppner. 

Bockstein greeted me affably:

"Velgome to de marget vonce more, Mr. --, Mr. --"

"Wilton, " said Eppner, assisting his partner in his high, dry voice, with cold civility. His blue-black eyes regarded me as but a necessarypart of the machinery of commerce. 

I gave my orders briefly. 

"Dot is a larch order, " said Bockstein dubiously. 

"You don't have to take it, " I was about to retort, when Eppner's high-pitched voice interrupted:

"It's all right. The customary margin is enough. "

Wallbridge was more enthusiastic. 

"You've come just in the nick of time, " said the stout little man, swabbing his bald head from force of habit, though the morning waschill. "The market has been drier than a fish-horn and duller than afoggy morning. You saved me from a trip to Los Angeles. I should havebeen carried off by my wife in another day. "

"You have got Gradgrind's idea of a holiday, " I laughed. 

"Gradgrind, Gradgrind?" said the little man reflectively. "Don't knowhim. He's not in the market, I reckon. Oh, I'm death on holidays! Icome near dying every day the Board doesn't meet. When it shut up shopafter the Bank of California went to the wall, I was just getting readyto blow my brains out for want of exercise, when they posted the noticethat it was to open again. "

I laughed at the stout broker's earnestness, and told him what I wanteddone. 

"Whew!" he exclaimed, "you're in business this time, sure. Well, thisis just in my line. "

Lattimer and Hobart, after a polite explanation of their rules inregard to margins, and getting a certified check, became obsequiouslyanxious to do my bidding. 

I distributed the business with such judgment that I felt pretty sureour plans could not in any way be exposed, and took my place at therail in the Boardroom. 

The opening proceedings were comparatively tame. I detected a sadfalling-off in the quality and quantity of lung power and muscularactivity among the buyers and sellers in the pit. 

At the call of Confidence, Lattimer and Hobart began feeding shares tothe market. Confidence dropped five points in half a minute, and thepit began to wake up. There was a roar and a growl that showed me theanimals were still alive. 

The Decker forces were taken by surprise, but with a hasty consultationcame gallantly to the rescue of their stock. At the close of the callthey had forced it back and one point higher than at the opening. 

This, however, was but a skirmish of outposts. The fighting began atthe call of Crown Diamond. 

It opened at sixty-three. The first bid was hardly made when with abellow Wallbridge charged on Decker's broker, filled his bid, andoffered a thousand shares at sixty-two. 

There was an answering roar from a hundred throats and a mob rushed onWallbridge with the apparent intent of tearing him limb from limb. Wallbridge's offer was snapped up at once, but a few weak-kneed holdersof the stock threw small blocks on the market. 

These were taken up at once, and Decker's brokers were bidding sixty-five. 

At this Eppner gave a blast like a cornet, and, waving his armsfrantically, plunged into a small-sized riot. I had entrusted him withfive thousand shares of Crown Diamond to be sold for the best pricepossible, and he was feeding the opposition judiciously. The pricewavered for a moment, but rallied and reached sixty-six. 

At this I signaled to Wallbridge, and with another bellow he started anopposition riot on the other side of the room from Eppner, and fedCrown Diamond in lumps to the howling forces of the Decker combination. 

The battle was raging furiously. 

I had no wish to break the price of the stock. I was intent only atselling shares at a good price, but I had convinced the Decker forcesthat there was a raid on the stock, and they had rallied to protect itat whatever cost. 

The price see-sawed between sixty-six and sixty-five, and amid a tumultof yells and shouts I sold twelve thousand shares. At last they weregone, but the offers still continued. 

Outsiders had become scared at the persistent selling, and were tryingto realize before a break should come, and in spite of Decker's effortsthe price ran down to sixty. 

There was a final rally of the Decker forces, and the call closed withCrown Diamond at sixty-three. 

I was pleased at the result. Doddridge Knapp had intrusted me with theshares with the remark, "I paid fifty for 'em and they're not worth atinker's dam. I got an inside look at the mine when I was in VirginiaCity. Feed Decker all he'll take at sixty. He's been fooled on thething, and I reckon he'll buy a good lot of them at that. "

I had sold Doddridge Knapp's entire lot of the stock at an average ofover sixty-five, had netted him a profit of fifteen dollars a share, and had, for a second purpose, served the plan of campaign by drawingthe enemy's resources to the defense of Crown Diamond and weakening, byso much, his power of operating elsewhere. 

By the time Omega was reached I had the plans fully in hand. 

The assault on Crown Diamond had caused a nervous feeling all along theline, and under rumors of a bear raid there had been a drop of severalpoints. 

Omega felt the results of the nervousness and depression, and opened atseventy-five. 

There was a moment's buzz--the quiet of a crowd expectant of greatevents. Then Wallbridge charged into the throng with a roar. I couldnot distinguish his words, but I knew that he was carrying out my orderto drop five thousand shares on the market. At his cry there was ananswering roar, and the scene upon the floor turned to a riot. Menrushed hither and thither, screaming, shouting, waving their arms, pushing, jostling, tearing each other to get into the midst of thethrong, whirling about, mobbing first one and then another of theleather-lunged leaders who furnished at each moment fresh centers forthe outbreak of disorder. How the market was going, I could only guess. At Wallbridge's onset I saw Lattimer and Eppner make a dive for him andthen separate, following other shouting, screaming madmen whopirouetted about the floor and tried to save themselves from a mobbing. I heard seventy shouted from one direction, but could not make outwhether it set the price of the stock or not. The din was too confusingfor me to follow the course of events. 

At last Wallbridge staggered up to the rail, flushed, collarless andpanting for breath, with his hat a hopeless wreck. 

"We've done it!" he gasped in my ear. "The dogs of war are making thefur fly down here, you bet! Don't you wish you was in it?"

"No, I don't!" I shouted decidedly. "How does it go?"

"I sold down to seventy-one--average seventy-three, I guess--and she'spiling in fit to break the floor. "

"Did Lattimer and Eppner get your stock?" I could not help asking. 

"They got about three thousand of it. Rosenheim got the rest. "

I remembered Rosenheim as the agent of Decker, and sighed. But Lattimerand Eppner were busy, and I had hopes. 

"Where is it now?" I asked. 

"Sixty-nine and a half. "

I meditated an instant whether to use my authority to throw anotherfive thousand shares on the market. But I caught sight of Deckeropposite, pale, hawklike, just seizing an envelope from a messenger. Hetore it open, and though his face changed not a line, I felt by amysterious instinct that it brought assurance of the aid he sought. 

"Buy every share you can get, " I said promptly. "Don't get in the wayof Lattimer or Eppner. Put on steam, too. "

"Two-forty on a turnpike road, " said Wallbridge. And, refreshed by aminute of rest, he gave a prolonged bellow and charged frantically fora stout man in a white waistcoat who was doing the maniac dance acrossthe hall. 

A moment later the clamor grew louder and the excitement increased. Iheard shouts of seventy-five, seventy-eight, eighty and eighty-five. Decker's men had entered into the bidding with energy. The sinews ofwar had been recruited, and it was a battle for the possession of everyblock of stock. 

Thus far I had followed closely the plan laid down for me by DoddridgeKnapp, and the course of the market had agreed with the outlines of hisprophecy. But now it was going up faster than he had expected. Yet Icould do nothing but buy. I dared not set bounds to the bidding. Idared not stop for an instant to hear how the account of purchasesstood, for it might allow Decker to get the stock that my employerwould need to give him the control of the mine. I could only grip therailing and wait for the end of the call. 

At last it came, and "Omega, one hundred and five and three-quarters"was the closing quotation. I feverishly took the totals of my purchasesfrom the brokers, and gave the checks to bind them. Then I hastily mademy way through the excited throngs that blocked the entrance to theExchange, brought thither by the exciting news of "a boom in Omega, "and hurried to the office. 

Doddridge Knapp had not yet come, and I consumed myself with impatiencefor ten minutes till I heard his key in the lock and he entered with acalm smile on his face. 

"What luck, Wilton?" was his greeting. The King of the Street, whosemillions had been staked in the game, was less excited than I whorisked nothing. 

I gave him my memoranda, and tried to read his face as he studied them. 

"You did a good job with Crown Diamond, " he grunted approvingly. 

"Thanks, " I returned. "I thought it wasn't bad for a stock that was notworth mentioning. "

"Um, yes. Decker can light his cigars with it next month. "

"A million dollars' worth of cigar-lighters might be called a piece ofextravagance, " I murmured. 

"You'll think so if you ever buy 'em, Wilton, " growled the King of theStreet feelingly. "And here is seven thousand six hundred shares ofOmega bought and five thousand sold. That scheme worked pretty well. Wemade twenty-six hundred by it. Um--the price went up pretty fast. "

The King of the Street looked sourly at the figures before him. "Youought to have got more stock, " he growled. 

This was a shock to my self-congratulation over my success, and I gavean inquiring "Yes?"

"As I figure it out, " he said, "somebody else got seven thousand sharesand odd. There were over fifteen thousand shares sold in your Board. "

I murmured that I had done my best. 

"Yes, yes; I suppose so, " said my employer. "But we need more. "

"How much?" I asked. 

"I've got a little over forty-eight thousand shares, " he said slowly, "and I must have near sixty thousand. It looks as though I'd have tofight for them. "

"Which will cost you about a million and a half at present rates, " Ireturned. 

"I'll give you a million commission, Wilton, if you'll get them forthat. "

The King of the Street plainly did not underrate the task he had set. 

"Well, Decker isn't any better off than you, " I said consolingly. 

"He's ten or fifteen thousand shares worse off than I am. "

"And he's put a fortune into Crown Diamond, and is pretty well loadedwith Confidence. "

"True, my boy. "

"And so, " I argued, "he must be nearer the bottom of his sack than youare. "

"Very good, Wilton, " said the King of the Street with a quizzical look. "But you've left one thing out. You don't happen to know that thedirectors of the El Dorado Bank had a secret meeting last night anddecided to back Decker for all they are worth. "

"Rather a rash proceeding, " I suggested. 

"Well, he had three millions of their money in his scheme, so I reckonthey thought the tail might as well follow the hide, " explained myemployer. 

"The only thing to do then is to get a bank yourself, " I returned. 

Doddridge Knapp's lips closed, and a trace of a frown was on his brows. 

"Well, this isn't business, " he said. "Now here is what I want, " hecontinued. And he gave directions for the buying at the afternoonsession. 

"Now, not over one hundred and twenty-five, " was his partinginjunction. "You may not get much--I don't think you will--though Ihave a scheme that may bring a reaction. "

Doddridge Knapp's scheme for a reaction must have been one of the kindthat goes off backward, for Omega jumped skyward on the afternoon call, and closed at one hundred and thirty. Rumors were flying fast that abig bonanza, "bigger than the Consolidated Virginia, " had beendiscovered on the six-hundred-foot level, and the great public wasrushing to Pine Street to throw its dollars into the blind pool againstKnapp, Decker and the El Dorado bank. And I had been able to get ascant one thousand five hundred shares when the call was over. 

"I did better than you, " said Doddridge Knapp, when I explained to himthe course of the session. "I found a nest of two thousand fivehundred, and gathered them in at one hundred and twenty. But that's allright. You've done well enough--as well as I expected. "

"And still eight thousand to get, " I said. 

"Nearly. "

"Well, we'll get them in due time, I suppose, " I said cheerfully. 

"We'll have 'em by Monday noon, or we won't have 'em at all, " growledDoddridge Knapp. 

"How is that?"

"You seem to have forgotten, young man, that the stock transfer booksof the Omega Company close on Monday at two o'clock. "

As I had never heard this interesting piece of information before, Icould not in strictness be said to have forgotten it. 

"Well, we ought to have the stock by that time, " I said consolingly. 

"We ought, " said the King of the Street grimly, pausing in the doorway, "but things don't always happen as they ought. "

As I remembered that if things had happened as they ought DoddridgeKnapp would be in jail, I gave a hearty assent to the proposition asthe door closed behind my retreating employer. 

CHAPTER XX

MAKING PROGRESS

"You really don't mean it, " said Luella severely, "and it's very wrongto say what you don't mean. "

"In society?" I asked blandly. "I'm afraid you're a heretic, L----- MissKnapp. "

I blushed as I stumbled over her name. She was Luella to me by nightand day, but I did not consider myself on a footing to use so thrillinga word in her presence. 

"Don't be rude, " she said. "Everything has its place in society. "

"Even prevarication, " I assented. 

"Even a polite consideration for the feelings of others, " correctedLuella. 

"Then you might have some consideration for mine, " I said in an injuredtone. 

"But we're not in society, --not just now, that is to say. We're justfriends talking together, and you're not to say what you don't meanjust for the sake of pleasing my vanity. "

"Well, if we're just friends talking together--" said I, looking up inher face. I was seated on the footstool before her, and it was veryentertaining to look at her face, so I stopped at that. 

"Yes, " said Luella, bending forward in her interest. 

"It was the bravest and truest and most womanly girl I ever knew orheard of. It's the kind a man would be glad to die for. "

I really couldn't help it. Her hand lay very temptingly near me, and Idon't think I knew what I was doing till she said:

"Please let go of my hand. "

"But he'd rather live for her, " I continued boldly. 

"If you don't behave yourself, I'll surrender you to Aunt Julia, " saidLuella, rising abruptly and slipping to the curtains of the alcove inwhich we were sitting. She looked very graceful and charming as shestood there with one hand raised to the lace folds. 

"Has she recovered?" I asked. 

"What a melancholy tone! The poor dear was in bed all Tuesday, but shetook advantage of her rest to amplify her emotions. "

"She has acquired a subject of conversation, at least. "

"To last her for the rest of her life, " laughed Luella, turning back. "'Twill be a blood-curdling tale by the time she reaches the East oncemore. And now do be sensible--no, you sit right where you are--and tellme how it all happened, and what it was about. "

I revolved for a moment the plan of a romance that would have, atleast, the merit of chaining Miss Knapp's interest. But it was gone asI looked into her serious eyes. 

"That's what I should like to know myself, " I confessed candidly. ThenI added with pardonable mendacity: "I think I must have been taken forsomebody else, if it was anything more than a desperate freak of thehighbinders. "

"Are you sure they had no interest in seeking you?" asked Luellagravely, with a charming tremor in her voice. 

Before I could reply, Mrs. Knapp's voice was in my ear, and Mrs. Knapp's figure was in the archway of the alcove. 

"Oh, you are here, " she said. "I thought I heard your voices. Luella, your father wants to see you a minute. And how do you do, Mr. Wilton?"

I greeted Mrs. Knapp cordially, though I wished that she had delayedher appearance, and looked regretfully after Luella. 

"I want to thank you for your heroism the other evening, " she said. 

"Oh, it was nothing, " I answered lightly. "Any one would have done thesame. "

"Perhaps--but none the less we are all very grateful. If I had onlysuspected that anything of the kind could have happened, I should neverhave allowed them to go. "

I felt rebelliously glad that she had not suspected. 

"I blame myself for it all, " I bowed. "It was very careless of me. "

"I'm afraid so, after all the warning you have had, " said Mrs. Knapp. 

"But as it turned out, no harm was done, " I said cheerfully. 

"I suppose so, " said Mrs. Knapp absently. Then she spoke with suddenattention. "Do you think your enemies followed you there?"

I was taken aback with the vision of the Wolf figure in the grimypassage, a fiend in the intoxication of opium, and stammered for areply. 

"My snake-eyed friend made himself a little familiar, I'm afraid, " Iadmitted. 

"It is dreadful that these dangers should follow you everywhere, " saidMrs. Knapp with feeling. "You must be careful. "

"I have developed eyes in the back of my head, " I said, smiling at herconcern. 

"I fear you need more than that. Now tell me how it all happened, justas you saw it. I'm afraid Luella was a little too hysterical to give atrue account of it. "

I gave her the story of the scene in the passage, with a few judiciousemendations. I thought it hardly worth while to mention DoddridgeKnapp's appearance, or a few other items that were more precious to methan to anybody else. 

When I had done Mrs. Knapp sighed. 

"There must be an end of this some day, " she said. 

"I hope the day isn't far off, " I confessed, "unless it should happento be the day the coroner is called on to take a particular interest inmy person. "

Mrs. Knapp shuddered. 

"Oh no, no--not that way. "

Then after a pause, she continued: "Would you not rather attack yourdangers at once, and have them over, than to wait for them to seekyou?"

I felt a trifle uneasy at this speech. There seemed to be a suggestionin it that I could end the whole matter by marching on my enemies, andcoming to decisive battle. I wished I knew what she was hinting at, andhow it was to be done, before I answered. 

"I haven't felt any particular disposition to hunt them up, " Iconfessed, "but if I could cut off all the heads of the hydra at once, it would be worth while. Anything for peace and quiet, you know. "

Mrs. Knapp smiled. 

"Well, there is no use challenging your fate. There is no need for youto act, unless the boy is in danger. "

"Oh, no, none at all, " I replied unblushingly. 

"And we'll hope that he will be kept safe until the danger has passed. "

I hoped so devoutly, and said as much. And after a few more words, Mrs. Knapp led me, feebly resisting, to Mrs. Bowser. 

"Oh, Mr. Wilton, " said that charming dame, "my heart goes pit-a-patwhen I see you, for it's almost like being among those dreadfulhighbinders again, and how could you bring the horrid creatures down onour dear Luella, when she might have been captured and sold intoslavery under our very eyes. "

"Ah, Mrs. Bowser, " said I gallantly, "I ought to have known what toexpect on bringing such a temptation before our Chinese friends. I donot see how you escaped being carried off. "

"Oh, now, Mr. Wilton, " exclaimed Mrs. Bowser, retreating behind herfan; "you are really too flattering. I must say, though, that some ofthem did make dreadful eyes at me, till I felt that I should faint. Anddo they really hold their slave-market right in the middle of SanFrancisco? And why doesn't the president break it up, and what is theEmancipation Proclamation for, I should like to know?"

"Madam, " I replied, "the slave-market is _sub rosa_, but I adviseyou to keep out of Chinatown. Some temptations are irresistible. "

Mrs. Bowser giggled behind her fan and was too pleased to speak, and Itook advantage of the lull to excuse myself and make a dive into thenext room where I espied Luella. 

"Yes, you may sit down here, " she said carelessly. "I want to beamused. "

I was not at all certain that I was flattered to be considered amusing;but I was willing to stay on any terms, so we fell into animatedconversation on nothing and everything. In the midst of thisentertaining situation I discovered that Mrs. Knapp was watching us, and her face showed no easy state of mind. As I caught her eye shemoved away, and a minute later Mr. Carter appeared with, --

"Excuse me, Miss Knapp, but your mother would like to see you. She andmy wife have some conspiracy on hand. "

I was pleased to see that Luella did not take the interruptiongratefully, but she surrendered her place to Mr. Carter, who talkedabout the weather with a fertility of commonplaces that excited myadmiration. But as even the weather has its limits as a subject ofinterest and the hour grew late, I suppressed a yawn and sought theladies to take my leave. 

"Oh, must you go?" said Luella, rising. And, leaving Mrs. Carter to hermother, she walked with me to the hall as though she would speak withme. 

But once more alone, with only the hum of voices from the reception-room as company, she fell silent, and I could think of nothing to say. 

"It's very good of you to come, " she said hesitatingly. 

My mind went back to that other evening when I had left the door inhumiliation and bitterness of spirit. Perhaps she, too, was thinking ofthe time. 

"It's much better of you to wish me to come, " I said with all my heart, taking her hand. 

"Come on Saturday, " she said at last. 

"I'm at your service at any time, " I murmured. 

"Don't, " she said. "That's conventional. If you are to be conventionalyou're not to come. " And she laughed nervously. I looked into her eyes, and then on impulse stooped and kissed the hand I still held. 

"It was what I meant, " I said. 

She snatched her hand away, and as she did so I saw in the dim lightthat hid the further end of the hall, the figure of the Wolf, massive, dark, threatening, and my mind supplied it with all the fires ofpassion and hate with which I had twice seen the face inflamed. 

Luella's eyes grew large with wonder and alarm as she caught on my facethe reflection of the Wolf's coming. But as she turned to look, thefigure faded away without sound, and there was only Mrs. Knappappearing in the doorway; and her alarm turned to amusement. 

"Oh, I was afraid you had gone, " said Mrs. Knapp. "Would you mind, Luella, looking after the guests a minute?"

Luella bowed me a good night and was gone. 

"Oh, Henry, " said Mrs. Knapp, "I wanted to ask you about Mr. Knapp. Isyour aid absolutely essential to his success?"

"I presume not, thought it would probably embarrass him somewhat if Ishould take ship for China before morning. "

As I held in the bank securities worth nearly three millions ofdollars, I believed that I spoke within bounds. 

"I suppose it would do no good to try to dissuade him from his plans?"

"It would take a bolder man than I, " said I with a smile at theaudacity of the idea. 

Mrs. Knapp smiled sadly in response. 

"Do you think, Henry, " she asked hesitatingly, "do you think that Mr. Knapp is quite himself?"

My mind leaped at the recollection of the Wolf figure in the opium-dens. But I choked down the thought, and replied calmly:

"He certainly has a vigorous business head on his shoulders. "

"I wish you could tell me about his business affairs, " said Mrs. Knappwistfully. "But I know you won't. "

"You wouldn't think much of me if I did, " I said boldly. 

"It would be right to tell _me_, " she said. "But I mustn't keepyou standing here. Good night. "

I walked down the steps, and joined my waiting guards with a budget ofnew thoughts and feelings to examine. 

The three days that followed were days of storm and stress in themarket; a time of steady battle in the Stock Exchange, of feints andsallies on stocks which we did not want, of "wash sales" and bogusbargains, of rumors on rumors and stratagems on stratagems--altogethera harvest season for the Father of Lies. 

Doddridge Knapp fought for the control of Omega, and the Deckersyndicate fought as stubbornly for the same end. I was forced to admirethe fertility of resource displayed by the King of the Street. He wascarrying on the fight with the smaller capital, yet by his attack anddefense he employed his resources to better result. The weakness of thesyndicate lay in its burden of Confidence and Crown Diamond. DoddridgeKnapp had sold out his holdings of both at a handsome profit, but, sofar from ceasing his sales of these stocks, as I had expected, he hadonly begun. He suddenly developed into a most pronounced "bear, " andsold both stocks for future delivery in great blocks. He was cautiouswith Confidence, but his assaults on Crown Diamond were ruthless. Atevery session he sold for future delivery at lower and lower prices, and a large contingent of those "on the Street" joined in the bearmovement. Decker and his brokers stood gallantly to the defense oftheir threatened properties and bought heavily. Yet it was evident thatOmega, Crown Diamond and Confidence together made a little heavierburden than even the El Dorado Bank could carry. In spite of theirefforts to buy everything that was offered, Crown Diamond "futures"fell to forty, thirty, twenty-five, and even twenty, closing at theafternoon session at twenty and three-fourths. 

But the King of the Street was less successful in his manipulation ofOmega. Despite his efforts, despite the rumors that were industriouslyspread about of the "pinching out" of the great veins, the pricecontinued to go up by leaps and bounds. The speculating public as wellas Decker and Company were reaching out for the stock, and it wasforced up ten and twenty points at a time, closing on Saturdayafternoon at three hundred and twenty-five. 

"This is merry war, " gasped Wallbridge, at the close of the lastsession. "I wouldn't have missed this for five years of my life. Doddridge Knapp is the boy for making the market hum when he takes thenotion. By George, we've had a picnic this week! And last Monday Ithought everything was dead, too!"

"Doddridge Knapp!" I exclaimed. "Is he in this deal, too?"

Wallbridge looked at me in a little confusion, and mopped his head withcomical abandon. Then he winked a most diabolical wink, and chuckled. 

"Of course, a secret's a secret; but when the whole Street's talkingabout it, you can't exactly call it a close-corporation secret, " heexplained apologetically. 

I assured the stout little broker solemnly that Doddridge Knapp was toknow nothing of my dealings. 

"I'll do anything for a good customer like you, " he gasped. "Lord, ifit wasn't for the lying, where would the market be? Dead, sir, dead!"And Wallbridge shook his head merrily over the moral degradation of thebusiness that chained his thoughts by day and his dreams by night. 

I joined Doddridge Knapp at the office and confided to him the factthat the cat was out of the bag. The King of the Street looked a littleamused at the announcement. 

"Good Lord, Wilton! Where are your ears?" he said. "The Street had thewhole story on Friday. Decker was sure of it on Wednesday. But I keptunder cover long enough to get a good start, and that was as much as Iexpected. "

"How do we stand now?" I asked. I knew that our purchases had not beenprogressing very well. 

"There's five hundred shares to get, " said the King of the Streetthoughtfully; "five hundred and thirty-six, to be accurate. "

"That's not a very promising outlook, " I suggested, remembering that wehad secured only four hundred shares in the whole day's struggle. 

"Well, there'll be an earthquake in the Street if we don't get them, and maybe there'll be one if we do. Decker is likely to dump all hisshares on the market the minute we win, and it will be the devil's ownjob to keep the bottom from falling out if he does. "

The King of the Street then gave some brief directions. 

"Now, " he continued, "you are to be at the Exchange without fail, onMonday morning. I'll be there to give you your orders. Don't be oneminute behind hand, or there may be Tophet to pay. " And he emphasizedhis words with an impressive growl that showed the Wolf's fangs. 

"I'll be on hand, " I replied. 

"Well, then, go, " he growled; "and see that you come with a clear headon Monday. Keep your thirst until after the game is over. "

A few hours later I was at the house of the Wolf, but I forgot to askfor Doddridge Knapp. Luella received me with apparent indifference thatcontrasted sharply with her parting, and I was piqued. Mrs. Knapp wasgracious, and sailed between us before I had received a dozen words. 

"Where are your spirits to-night?" she asked railingly. "Have you leftthem in lower Pine Street?"

"I have a heart for any fate, " I returned lightly. "Am I too grave forthe occasion?"

"You're always under orders to be cheerful, " Luella broke in, "or atleast to explain the reason why. "

"He can't explain, " retorted her mother. "Mr. Knapp won't let him. "

It struck me, on watching mother and daughter, that it was they whowere grave. Luella gave an occasional flash of brightness, but seemedtired or depressed, while Mrs. Knapp appeared to struggle against someinsistent sorrow. But presently we found a subject in which Luellaroused her interest, and her bright mind and ready wit drove away thefancy that had first assailed me. Then some caller claimed theattention of Mrs. Knapp, and I was content to monopolize Luella'sconversation for the evening. At last I was constrained to go. Mrs. Knapp was still busied in conversation with her visitor, and Luellafollowed me once more into the hall. 

Again her animation left her, and she was silent; and I, on my side, could think of nothing to say. Then her deep gray eyes flashed upon mea look that sent my pulses throbbing, an indefinable, pleading glancethat shook my soul. 

"Can't you tell me--won't you tell me?" she said in a low tone that wasthe complement of the silent speech of the eyes. 

"I wish I could, " I whispered. 

"I know it must be right--it is right, " she said in the same tone. "ButI wish that I might know. Will you not tell me?"

"I will tell you some day, " I said brokenly. "Now it is another's, andI can not. But it shall all be yours. "

"All?"

"Everything. "

In another moment I know not what I should have done, so stirred andtempted was I by her tone and look. But in an instant her mannerchanged, and she exclaimed in a mocking voice:

"Now I have your promise, so I'll let you go. You'd better not linger, or mama will certainly have some business to talk over with you. " Andbefore I could touch her hand she was gone, and her laughing "goodnight" echoed down the hall. 

I was puzzled by these changes of mood, and decided that Luella Knappwas a most unaccountable young woman. And then there dashed over me asickening realization of what I had done, of what I had promised, andof how impossible it was that I should ever reveal to her the secret Iguarded. I cursed the mad folly and crime of her father, for they stoodbetween her and me. Yet under the subtle influence that she cast uponme I felt the bonds of duty relaxed and slipping away. I had now toconfess to myself that I loved Luella Knapp. And she? I hoped andfeared, and ran over in my mind every incident of my later visits thatmight tell in what regard I was held--the tones, the words, the manner, that ran from deep interest to indifference. And trying to untangle theskein, I was a good deal startled to feel a touch on my arm as Ireached the sidewalk. 

"Oh, it's you, Porter, is it?" I exclaimed, on recognizing my retainer. "Is Barkhouse here?"

"Yes, sir. An' here's Wilson with a message for you. "

"A message for me! From whom?"

Wilson took me aside, and thrust an envelope into my hand. 

"That come to your room--about nine o'clock, I reckon, " he said. "Leastways, that's the first we saw of it. An' Mother Borton was there, an' she says she must see you to-night, sure. She wouldn't stay, butsays you was to come down there before you goes to bed, sure, if youwants to keep out of trouble. "

I looked at the envelope, and in the flickering light from the street-lamp I could make out the address to Henry Wilton. By the handwritingand by the indefinable scent that rose from the paper, I knew it for amessage from the Unknown who held for me the secrets of life and death. 

CHAPTER XXI

AT THE BIDDING OF THE UNKNOWN

The windows of Borton's shone cheerfully, although it was pastmidnight. At our cautious approach a signal was given, and with theanswering word a man appeared from the obscurity. 

"All safe?" I inquired. 

"It's all right, " said Barkhouse. "There's a dozen men in the bar-room, and I'm not sure there ain't some of the hounds amongst them. Butyou're to go in the side door, and right up stairs. "

"Two of you may keep at the foot of the stairs, just inside the door, "I said. "You may stand watch outside, Barkhouse. "

There was sound of rude song, and the clink of glass and bottle in thebar and dining-room, as I passed through the side hall. But the doorwas closed, and I saw nothing of the late revelers. In the upperhallway Mother Borton stood by an open door, silhouetted dark andthreatening against the dim flickerings that came from the candle inthe room behind her. 

I had but opened my mouth to give her word of greeting when she raiseda warning claw, and then seizing me, drew me swiftly into the room andclosed and locked the door. 

"How air ye, dearie?" she said, surveying me with some apparent pride. "You're safe and whole, ain't ye?"

As the candlelight fell on her face, she seemed older and more like abird of prey than ever. The nose and chin had taken a sharper cast, thelines of her face were deeper drawn with the marks of her evil life, and her breath was strong with the strength of water-front whisky. Buther eyes burned bright and keen as ever in their sunken sockets, withthe fire of her fevered brain behind them. 

"I am safe, " I said, "though I had a close shave in Chinatown. "

"I heerd of it, " said Mother Borton sourly. "I reckon it ain't muchgood to sit up nights to tell you how to take keer of yourself. It's awonder you ever growed up. Your mammy must 'a' been mighty keerfulabout herdin' ye under cover whenever it rained. "

"I _was_ a little to blame, " I admitted, "but your warning was notthrown away. I thought I was well-guarded. "

Mother Borton sniffed contemptuously. 

"I s'pose you come down here alone?"

"No. " And I explained the disposition of my forces. 

"That's not so bad, " she said. "They could git up here soon enough, Ireckon, if there was a row. But I guess you didn't think I sent for yejest to tell ye you was a fool in Chinatown. "

I admitted that I should have expected to wait till morning for such apiece of information. 

"Well, " said Mother Borton, "that ain't it. Something's up. "

"And what might it be?" I inquired. "The moon?"

Mother Borton did not take this flippancy kindly. Her face grew darkerand more evil as it was framed in the dancing shadows behind her. 

"You can git a knife in ye as easy as winking if I'll jest keep mymouth shut, " she cried spitefully. 

"Yes, " said I repentantly, putting my hand upon her arm. "But you aremy very good friend, and will tell me what I ought to know. "

The creature's face lighted at my tone and action, and her eyes meltedwith a new feeling. 

"That I will, " she said; "that I will, as if you were my own boy. "

She seized my hand and held it as she spoke, and looked intently, almost lovingly, on my face. Elsewhere I could have shivered at thethought of her touch. Here, with the bent figure amid the gloomyshadows of the den in which we sat, with the atmosphere of danger heavyabout us, I was moved by a glow of kindly feeling. 

"I was a-listening to 'em, " she continued in a low, earnest tone, glancing around fearfully as if she had the thought that some one elsemight be listening in turn. "I was a-listening, an' I heerd what theysays. "

"Who said?" I inquired. 

"The ones you knows on, " she returned mysteriously. 

"What ones?" I persisted, though I supposed she meant to indicate someof my energetic enemies. 

Mother Borton paid no attention to my question, and continued:

"I knowed they was a-talking about you, an' they says they would cutyour liver out if they found ye there. "

"And where is there?" I asked with growing interest. 

"That's what I was listening to find out, " said Mother Borton. "Icouldn't hear much of what they says, but I hears enough to git anidee. "

"Well?" I said inquiringly as she hesitated. 

She bent forward and hissed rather than whispered:

"They've found out where the boy is!"

"Are you certain?" I asked in sudden alarm. 

"Pretty sure, " she said, "pretty sure. Now you won't go near the place, will ye, dearie?" she continued anxiously. 

"You forget that I haven't the first idea where the boy is hidden, " Ireturned. 

"Oh, Lord, yes! I reckon my mind's going, " grunted Mother Borton. "ButI'm afeard of their knives for ye. "

"I wish I could give warning, " said I, much disturbed by theinformation. "The protector of the boy ought to know about this. I'mafraid I have done wrong. "

Mother Borton looked at me fixedly. 

"Don't you worry, my dear. She'll know about it all right. "

Again the feeling stole over me that this woman knew more than shetold. But I knew that it was useless to question her directly. Iconsidered a moment, and then decided to trust her with a secret whichmight surprise her into admitting her knowledge. 

"I suspect that she knows already. I got a note to-night, " said I, drawing from my pocket the envelope I had received from the Unknown. 

Mother Borton seized it, looked for a moment at the firm, delicate handof the address, and drew out the sheet that it inclosed. 

"Read it, dearie, " she said, handing it back after a scrutiny. "I can'ttell anything but big print. "

I suspected that Mother Borton was trying to deceive me, but I repeatedthe words of the note:

"Send six men to 8 o'clock boat. Come with one in hack to courtyard ofthe Palace Hotel at 7:40. "

Mother Borton's face changed not a whit at the reading, but at the endshe nodded. "She knows, " she said. 

"What does it mean?" I asked. "What is to happen?"

"Don't go, dearie--you won't go, will you?"

"Yes, " I said. "I must go. "

"Oh, " she wailed; "you may be killed. You may never come back. "

"Nonsense, " said I. "In broad daylight, at the Palace Hotel? I'm muchmore likely to be killed before I get home to-night. "

Her earnestness impressed me, but my resolution was not shaken. MotherBorton rested her head on the table in despair at my obstinacy. 

"Well, if you will, you will, " she said at last; "and an old woman'swarnings are nothing to you. But if you will put your head in thetraps, I'll do my best to make it safe after you git it there. You jistsit still, honey. " And she took the candle and went to a corner whereshe seated herself at a stand. 

Her shadow grew very large, and her straggling locks sent streamers ofblackness dancing on the grimy ceiling. The weird figure, thrown intobold relief by the candle-lighted wall beyond it while all else was inobscurity, gave an uncanny feeling that turned half to dread as Ilooked upon her. What secret did she hold? What was the danger shefeared?

Mother Borton appeared to have some difficulty in arranging her wordsto her liking. She seemed to be writing, but the pen did not flowsmoothly. At last she was done, and, sealing her work in an envelope, she brought the flickering light once more to the table. 

"Take that, " she said, thrusting the envelope into my hand. "If youfind a one-eyed man when you git into trouble, give him that letterI've writ ye, and it may do ye some good. It's the best I can do ferye. You'd better go now and git some sleep. You may need it. "

I thanked Mother Borton and pressed her hand, and she held the candleas I tiptoed down the stairs, joined my waiting guards, and went outinto the night. 

The fresh, cool air of the early morning hours was grateful after theclose and tainted atmosphere of the den we had left, but I had otherthings to think of than the pleasure of once more filling my lungs. 

"Where are Barkhouse and Phillips?" I asked, as we turned our facestoward the west. 

Porter gave a low whistle, and, as this failed to bring an answer, followed it with one louder and more prolonged. We listened, but noresponse came. 

"We'd better get out of here, " said Wilson. "There's no telling whatmay happen when they hear that whistle. "

"Hist! What's that?" said Porter, drawing me back into a doorway. 

There were running steps on the block above us, and I thought a shadowdarted from one side of the street to the other. 

"There seem to be friends waiting for us, " said I. "Just get a goodgrip of your clubs, boys, and keep your revolvers handy in case theythink they have a call to stop us. "

"Hold on, " said Porter. "There's a gang of 'em there. I see a dozen of'em, and if we're the ones they're after we had better cut for it. "

"I believe you are right, " said I, peering into the darkness. I couldsee a confused mass, but whether of men or boxes I could only guess. 

"We'll go up here, and you can cut around the other way, " said Porter. "There's no need for you to risk it. "

"There's no need for any one to risk it. We'll cut together. "

"This way then, " said Wilson. "I know this part of town better than youdo. Run on your toes. " And he darted past Borton's, and plunged into analley that led toward the north. Porter and I followed, as quietly aspossible, through the dark and noisome cut-off to Pacific Street. Wilson turned toward the bay, and crossing the street at the nextcorner followed the main thoroughfare to Broadway. 

"I guess we're all right now, " he gasped, as we turned again to thewest, "but we'd best keep to the middle of the street. "

And a little later we were in sight of the house of mystery whichfronted, forbidding and gloomy as ever, on Montgomery Street. 

"Where's Barkhouse?" I asked of Trent, who was on guard. 

"He hasn't come in, sir. Phillips got here a bit ago, and I think hehas something to report. "

As Phillips had been sent scouting with Barkhouse I thought it likely, and called him to my room. 

"No, sir, I didn't see Bob for nigh on an hour before I came back. Notafter we got to Borton's. "

"I left him just outside the door, " I said. 

"Then you seen him after I did. I was following two fellows down to theDen, you know, and that was the last I seen of Bob. "

I understood that the Den was one of the meeting-places of the enemy. 

"Did you find anything there?"

"Not a thing. The two fellows went in, but they didn't come out. Another gang of three comes along and goes in, but none of 'em shows upagain, and I reckoned they'd gone to bed; so I takes it as a hint andcomes up here. "

"I suppose it would have done no good to wait. "

"You don't think Bob's been took, do you?"

I did feel uneasy over the absence of the stalwart scout, and but forthe orders I had received for the morning I should have had my forcesout to find him, or get a hostage in exchange. But as it was, Idissembled my fears and made some reassuring reply. 

At the earliest light of the morning I was once more astir, but half-refreshed by my short and broken rest, and made my dispositions for theday. I ordered Porter, Fitzhugh, Brown, Wilson, Lockhart and Abrams towait for me at the Oakland Ferry. Trent, who was still weak from hiswound, I put in charge of the home-guard, with Owens, Phillips andLarson as his companions, and gave instructions to look for Barkhouse, in case he did not return. Wainright I took with me, and hailing a hackdrove to the Palace Hotel. 

There was a rattle of wagons and a bustle of departing guests as wedrove into the courtyard of the famous hostelry. The eight-o'clock boatwas to carry the passengers for the east-bound overland train, and theoutgoing travelers were filling the place with noise and confusion. 

I stepped out of the hack, and looked about me anxiously. Was I to meetthe Unknown? or was I to take orders from some emissary of my hiddenemployer? No answering eye met mine as I searched the place with eagerglance. Neither woman nor man of all the hurrying crowd had a thoughtfor me. 

The hotel carriages rattled away, and comparative quiet once more fellon the court. I looked impatiently about. Was there some mistake? Hadthe plans been changed? But as I glanced at the clock that ticked theseconds in the office of the hotel I saw that I had been early, andthat it was even now but twenty minutes to the hour. 

The minute-hand had not swept past the figure VIII when the dooropened, there was a hurried step, and two women stood before me, leading a child between them. Both women were closely veiled, and thechild was muffled and swathed till its features could not be seen. 

One of the women was young, the other older--perhaps middle-aged. Bothwere tall and well-made. I looked eagerly upon them, for one of themmust be the Unknown, the hidden employer whose task had carried HenryWilton to his death, who held my life in her hands, and who fought thedesperate battle with the power and hatred of Doddridge Knapp. 

I was conscious of some disappointment, I could not say why. Butneither of the women filled the outline of the shadowy picture my fancyhad drawn of the Unknown. Neither gave impression of the force anddecision with which my fancy had endowed the woman who had challengedthe resources and defied the vengeance of the Wolf. So much I took tomy thoughts in the flash of an eye as they approached. It was to theyounger that I turned as the more likely to have the spirit of contest, but it was the older who spoke. 

"Here is your charge, Mr. Wilton, " she said in a low, agitated voice. As she spoke, I felt the faint suggestion of the peculiar perfume thathad greeted me from the brief letters of the Unknown. 

"I am ready for orders, " I said with a bow. 

It was apparently a mere business matter between us. I had fanciedsomehow that there had been a bond of friendship, as much as offinancial interest, between Henry Wilton and his employer, and felt thesense of disappointment once more. 

"Your orders are in this envelope, " said the Unknown, hurriedlythrusting a paper into my hand. "Drive for the boat, and read them onthe way. You have no time to lose. "

The younger woman placed the child in the hack. 

"Climb in, Wainwright, " said I, eying the youngster unfavorably. "Willhe travel with us, ma'am? He's rather young. "

"He'll go all right, " said the elder woman with some agitation. "Heknows that he must. But treat him carefully. Now good-by. "

"Oakland Ferry, driver, " I cried, as I stepped into the hack andslammed the door. And in a moment we were dashing out into NewMontgomery Street, and with a turn were on Market Street, rolling overthe rough cobbles toward the bay. 

CHAPTER XXII

TRAILED

"Did you see him?" asked Wainwright, as the hack lurched into MarketStreet and straightened its course for the ferry. 

"Who?"

"Tom Terrill. He was behind that big pillar near the arch there. I sawhim just as the old lady spoke to you, but before I catches your eye, he cuts and runs. "

I felt of my revolver at this bit of news, and was consoled to have thetouch of it under my hand. 

"I didn't see him, " I said. "Keep the child between us, and shootanybody who tries to stop us or to climb into the hack. I must read myorders. "

"All right, sir, " said Wainwright, making the child comfortable betweenus. 

I tore open the envelope and drew forth the scented paper with itsfamiliar, firm, yet delicate handwriting, and read the words:

"Take the train with your men for Livermore. Await orders at the hotel. Protect the boy at all hazards. "

Inclosed in the sheet were gold-notes to the value of five hundreddollars--a thoughtful detail for which I was grateful at the outset ofsuch an expedition. I thrust the money into my pocket and pondered uponthe letter, wondering where Livermore might be. My knowledge of thegeography of California was exceedingly scant. I knew that Oakland layacross the bay and that Brooklyn lay close by, a part of Oakland. Iremembered a dinner at Sacramento, and knew Los Angeles on the map. Further than this my ideas were of the most hazy character, andLivermore was nowhere to be found in my geographical memory. 

I had some thought of questioning Wainwright, who was busy trying tomake friends with the child, but reflecting that I might be supposed toknow all about it I was silent. Wainwright's efforts to get the childto speak were without success. The little thing might from its sizehave been five years old, but it was dumb--frightened, as I supposed, by the strangeness of the situation, and would speak no word. 

This, then, was the mysterious boy whose fate was linked so closelywith my own; about whose body battled the hirelings of Doddridge Knappand of my unknown employer; for whom murder had been done, and for whomperhaps many now living were to give up their lives. 

Who was he? Whence had he come? What interests were bound up in hislife? Why was his body the focus of plot and counterplot, and itspossession disputed with a fierce earnestness that stopped at no crime?Perhaps, could he be got to talk, the key of the mystery might be putin my hands. Out of the mouth of the babe I might learn the secret thathad racked my brain for days and weeks. 

And why was he put thus in my charge? What was I to do with him?Whither was I to carry him? I reproached myself that I had not stoppedthe Unknown to ask more questions, to get more light on the duties thatwere expected of me. But the hack on a sudden pulled up, and I saw thatwe were before the long, low, ugly wooden building that sat squareacross Market Street as the gateway to San Francisco through which thetide of travel must pass to and from the Golden City. 

"Look out on both sides, Wainwright, " I cautioned. "You carry the boyand I'll shoot if there's any trouble. See that you keep him safe. "

There were nearly ten minutes before the boat left, but the hurry fortickets, the rush to check baggage, the shouts of hackmen andexpressmen, the rattle and confusion of the coming and departingstreet-cars that centered at the ferry, made us inconspicuous among thethrong as we stepped out of the hack. 

"Here Fitzhugh, Brown, " I said, catching sight of two of my retainers, "get close about. Have you seen anything--_any_ signs of theenemy?"

"I haven't, " said Fitzhugh, "but Abrams thought he saw Dotty Fergusonover by the Fair Wind saloon there. Said he cut up Clay Street beforethe rest of us caught sight of him--so maybe Abrams was off his nut. "

"Quite likely, " I admitted as we turned the jutting corner of thebuilding and came under shelter by the ticket office. "But keep a closewatch. "

The other four retainers were in the passageway, and I called to theticket-seller for the tickets to Livermore. By the price I decided thatLivermore must be somewhere within fifty miles, and marshaling my troopabout the boy, marched into the waiting-room, past the door-keeper, through the sheds, and on to the ferry boat. 

I saw no signs of the enemy, and breathed freer as the last belatedpassenger leaped aboard, the folding gang-plank was raised, and thesteamer, with a prolonged blast of the whistle, slid out into theyellow-green waters of the bay. 

The morning had dawned pleasant, but the sky was now becoming overcast. The wind came fresh and strong from the south. The white-capped waveswere beginning to toss and fret the shallow waters, and the air gavepromise of storm. We could see men busy making all things snug on thevessels that swung uneasily to their anchors in the harbor, and tugswere rushing about, puffing noisily over nothing, or here and theretowing some vessel to a better position to meet the rising gale. Thepanorama of the bay, with the smoke-laden city, grim and dark behind, the forest of masts lining its shore, the yellow-green waters, dottedhere and there with ships tossing sharply above the white-capped wavesthat chased each other toward the north, the cloud squadrons flying upin scattered array from the south, and the Alameda hills lying somberand dark under the gray canopy of the eastern sky in front, had a charmthat took my mind for the time from the mysterious enterprise that laybefore me. 

"Keep together, boys, " I cautioned my retainers as I recalled thesituation. "Has any one seen signs of the other gang?"

There was a general murmur in the negative. 

"Well, Abrams, will you slip around and see if any of them got aboard?There's no such thing as being comfortable until we are sure. "

In the hurry and excitement of preparation and departure, the orders Ihad given and received, and the work that filled every moment, I hadbeen conscious of the uneasy burden of a task forgotten. I had surelyneglected something. Yet for my life I could not see that we lackedanything. I had my seven retainers, the boy was safe with us, I had mypurse, we were well-armed, and every man had his ticket to Livermore. But at last the cause of my troubles came to my mind. 

"Great Scott!" I thought. "It's Doddridge Knapp. That little engagementin the stock-market is casting its shadow before. "

It seemed likely indeed that the demands of my warring employers wouldclash here as well as in the conflict over the boy. 

Yet with all the vengeful feeling that filled my heart as I looked onthe child and called up the memory of my murdered friend, I could butfeel a pang of regret at the prospect that Doddridge Knapp's fortuneshould be placed in hazard through any unfaithfulness of mine. He hadtrusted me with his plans and his money. And the haunting thought thathis fortune was staked on the venture, and that his ruin might follow, with the possible beggary of Luella and Mrs. Knapp, should I fail himat tomorrow's crisis, weighed on my spirits. 

My uncomfortable reflections were broken by the clanging engine-bellsand the forward movement of the passengers as the steamboat passed intothe slip at Long Wharf. 

"Stand together, boys, " I cautioned my men. "Keep back of the crowd. Wainwright will take the boy, and the rest of you see that nobody getsnear him. "

"All right, " said Wainwright, lifting the child in his arms. "It willtake a good man to get him away from me. "

"Where's Abrams?" I asked, noting that only six of my men were at hand. 

"You sent him forward, " said Lockhart. 

"Not for all day. "

"Well, he hasn't been seen since you told him to find out who'saboard. "

I was a little vexed at the seeming neglect of my retainer, and as wehad come down the rear stairs to avoid the crowd and marched throughthe driveway on the lower deck, I cast a glance into the bar-room withthe expectation of finding him engaged in the gentle art of fortifyinghis courage. But no sign of the missing man met my eye. 

"It's no use to wait for him, " I growled. "But the next man that takesFrench leave had better look somewhere else for a job, for by the greathorn spoon, he's no man of mine. "

We marched off the boat in the rear of the crowd, I in no pleasanthumor, and the men silent in reflection of my displeasure. And withsome difficulty we found seats together in a forward coach. I arrangedmy men in three seats on one side of the car and two on the other, Wainwright taking the center of the three with the boy, guarded thusfront and rear, while I sat opposite and one seat behind, where I couldobserve any attempt at interference, with Lockhart in front of me. Ijudged that any one who tried to attack the position would have alively five minutes on his hands. 

The train was the east-bound overland, and it seemed hours before thebaggage was taken aboard and the signal given to start. I grew uneasy, but as my watch assured me that only ten minutes had passed when theengine gave the first gentle pull at the train, I suspected that I waslosing the gift of patience. The train had not gathered headway beforea man bent beside me, and Abrams' voice spoke softly in my ear. 

"There are two of 'em aboard. "

"Yes? Where did you find them?" I asked. 

"In the stoke hole. I hid behind a bench till every one had gone andsaw 'em crawl out. They bribed a fireman or deck-hand or some one tokeep 'em under cover. They got off the boat at the last minute, and Isneaked after 'em. "

"And they're on the train?"

"Yes, three cars back, --next to the sleepers. Shall we chuck 'emoverboard as soon as we get out of Oakland?"

"Not unless we are attacked, " I returned. "Just sit down by the reardoor and give the signal if they come this way. There'll be no troubleif they are only two. "

My precautions were not called to a test, and we reached Livermore atnear eleven o'clock, without further incident than a report from Abramsthat the spies of the enemy got off the train at every station andwatched for our landing. Yet when we stood on the platform of the barelittle station at Livermore and saw the yellow cars crawling away ontheir eastward journey, we looked in vain for the men who had trackedus. 

"Fooled, by thunder!" said Fitzhugh with a laugh in which the othersjoined. "They're off for Sacramento. "

"They'll have to earn their money to find us there, " said Abrams. 

The gray day had become grayer, and the wind blew fresh in our faceswith the smell of rain heavy upon it, as we sought the hotel. It was abare country place, yet trees grew by the hotel and there were vinesclimbing about its side, and it looked as though we might becomfortable for a day, should we have to stay there so long. 

"Plenty of room, " said the landlord rubbing his hands. 

"Are there any letters here for Henry Wilton?" I inquired, bethinkingme that orders might have been sent me already. 

"No, sir. "

"Nor telegrams?"

"O Lord, no, sir. We don't have telegrams here unless somebody's dead. "

"You may give me Mr. Wilton's mail if any comes, " I said. 

The landlord led the way up the stairs, and beguiled me by informing mewhat a fine house he had and how hard the times were. 

"We wish a large room, you know, where we can be together, " I said, "and sleeping-rooms adjoining. "

"Here's just the place for you, " said the landlord, taking the way tothe end of the upper hall and throwing open a double door. "This is theup-stairs parlor, but I can let you have it. There's this large bedroomopening off it, --the corner bedroom, sir, --and this small one here atthis side opens into the parlor and the hall. Perhaps you would likethis other one, too. "

He seemed ready and anxious to rent us the whole house. 

"This is enough for our comfort, " I assured him. 

"There'll be a fire here in a minute, " said the landlord, regarding themiserable little stove with an eye of satisfaction that I attributed toits economical proportions. 

"This is good enough, " said Lockhart, looking about approvingly at theprim horsehair furniture that gave an awesome dignity to the parlor. 

"Beats our quarters below all hollow, " said Fitzhugh. "And no need tohave your gun where you can grab it when the first man says boo!"

"Don't get that idea into your head, " said I. "Just be ready foranything that comes. We're not out of the woods yet, by a long way. "

"They've gone on to Sacramento, " laughed Fitzhugh; and the othersnodded in sympathy. 

"Indeed?" I said. "How many of you could have missed seeing a party ofnine get off at a way-station on this line?"

There was silence. 

"If there's any one here who thinks he would have missed us when he wasset to look for us, just let him speak up, " I continued with good-humored raillery. 

"I guess you're right, " said Fitzhugh. "They couldn't well have missedseeing us. "

"Exactly. And they're not off for Sacramento, and not far fromLivermore. "

"Well, they're only two, " said Lockhart. 

"How long will it take to get a dozen more up here?" I asked. 

"There's a train to Niles about noon, " said one of the men. "They couldget over from there in an hour or two more by hard riding. "

"The Los Angeles train comes through about dark, " said another. 

"I think, gentlemen, " said I politely, "that we'd best look out for ourdefenses. There's likely to be a stormy evening, I should judge. "

"Well, " growled Wainwright, "we can look out for ourselves as well asthe next fellow. "

"If there's bloody crowns going round, the other gang will get itsshare, " said Fitzhugh. And the men about me nodded. 

I was cheered to see that they needed nobody to do their fighting, however advisable it might be to do their thinking by deputy. 

"Very good, " I said. "Now I'll just look about the town a bit. You maycome with me, if you please, Fitzhugh. "

"Yes, sir. "

"And Abrams and Lockhart may go scouting if they like. "

Abrams and Lockhart thought they would like. 

"Better keep together, " I continued. "What's the earliest time any onecould get here?"

"Two o'clock--if they drove over. "

"I'll be around here by that time. You, Abrams, can look out for theroad and see who comes into town. "

"All right, sir, " said Abrams. "There won't anybody get in here withoutI catch sight of him. "

Lockhart nodded his assent to the boast, and after cautioning the menwho were left behind we sallied forth. 

The town was a straggling, not unpleasing country place. The businessstreet was depressing with its stores closed and its saloons open. Afew loafers hung about the doors of the dram-shops, but the moistbreath of the south wind eddying about with its burden of dust and deadleaves made indoors a more comfortable location, and through the bluehaze of tobacco smoke we could see men gathered inside. Compared withthe dens I had found about my lodgings in the city, the saloons wereorderly; but nevertheless they offended my New England sense of thefitness of things. In the city I had scarcely known that there was aSunday. But here I was reminded, and felt that something was amiss. 

In the residence streets I was better pleased. Man had done little, butnature was prodigal to make up for his omissions. The buildings werepoor and flimsy, but in the middle of December the flowers bloomed, vines were green, bushes sent forth their leaves, and the beauty of thescene even under the leaden skies and rising gale made it a delight tothe eye. 

"Not much of a place, " said Fitzhugh, looking disdainfully at thebuildings. "Hello! Here's Dick Thatcher. How are you, Dick? It's a yearof Sundays that I haven't seen you. This is--er--a friend of mine, Thatcher, --you needn't mention that you've seen us. " And Fitzhughstumbled painfully over the recollection that we were incognito, andbecame silent in confusion. 

"We needn't be strangers to Mr. Thatcher, " I laughed. "My name isWilton. Of course you won't mention our business. "

"Oh, no, Mr. Wilton, " said Thatcher, impressed, and shifting the quidof tobacco in his lantern jaws. "Of course not. "

"And you needn't say anything of our being here at all, " I continued. "It might spoil the trade. "

"Mum's the word, " said Thatcher. "I'll not let a soul know till you say'Let 'er go. ' O Lord! I hope the trade goes through. We want a lot morecapital here. "

Mr. Thatcher began to scratch his head and to expectorate tobacco-juicecopiously, and I suspected he was wondering what the secret might bethat he was not to betray. So I made haste to say:

"Is this stable yours?"

"Yes, sir, " said Thatcher eagerly. "I've been running it nigh on twoyears now. "

"Pretty good business, eh, Dick?" said Fitzhugh, looking criticallyabout. 

"Nothin' to brag on, " said Thatcher disparagingly. "You don't make afortune running a livery stable in these parts--times are too hard. "

And then Mr. Thatcher unbent, and between periods of vigorousmastication at his cud, introduced us to his horses and eagerlyexplained the advantages that his stable possessed over any other thisside of Oakland. 

"Very good, " I said. "We may want something in your line later. We canfind you here at any time, I suppose. "

"O Lord, yes. I live here days and sleep here nights. But if you wantto take a look at the property before it gets a wetting you'll have tobe pretty spry. "

My suggestion of a trade had misled the worthy stableman into theimpression that I was considering the purchase of real estate. 

"I'll see about it, " I said. 

"There's a big rain coming on, sure, " he said warningly, as we turnedback to the hotel. 

It was a little after one o'clock, but as we approached our quartersLockhart came running toward me. 

"What is it?" I asked, as he panted, out of breath. 

"There's a special train just come in, " he said; "an engine and onecar. It's at the station now. "

"So? Did any of our friends come on it?"

"Abrams has gone down to find out. "

"Come along then, " said I. "We'll see what is to be seen. "

"Don't!" cried Fitzhugh, catching my arm. "They might get you. "

"Nonsense, " said I, shaking off his grasp. "Have your revolver ready, and follow me. "

CHAPTER XXIII

A PIECE OF STRATEGY

A few idlers were on the platform of the station as we approached withmuch apparent unconcern, our hands in our overcoat pockets where theweapons lay. 

"Where's the train?" I asked, looking at the bare track. 

"Yonder, " grunted a native, pointing his thumb lazily up the road wherethe engine lay by the watering tank, slaking its thirst. 

"Well, just let me and Lockhart walk ahead, " said Fitzhugh gruffly, aswe started along the track. "I shouldn't have the first idea what wewas here for if you was to be knocked over. "

Fitzhugh could not be much more in the dark on this point than I, but Ilet him have his way. If some one was to be shot, I was ready to resignmy claim to the distinction in favor of the first comer. 

There were perhaps a score of people about the car. 

"There's Abrams, " said Lockhart. 

"There's no danger, then, " said Fitzhugh with a grin. "See, he'sbeckoning to us. "

We hastened forward eagerly. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"There's no one here, " said Abrams, with a puzzled look. 

"Well, this car didn't come alone, " I returned. "Have you asked theengineer?"

"Yes. "

"And the fireman?"

"Yes. "

"And they say--"

"That it's against the rules to talk. "

"Nonsense; I'll see them myself. " And I went forward to the engine. 

The engineer was as close-mouthed as though words were going at adollar apiece and the market bounding upward. He declined dinner, couldnot be induced to come and take a drink, and all that could be got outof him was that he was going back to Niles, where he would stop untilhe got orders from the superintendent. 

When I tried to question the fireman, the engineer recovered histongue, and had so many orders to be attended to that my words werelost in a rattle of coal and clang of iron. 

And the engine, having drunk its fill, changed its labored breathing toa hissing and swishing of steam that sent the hot vapor far on bothsides, and then gathering speed, puffed its swift way back the road bywhich it had come, leaving the car deserted on a siding. 

"Here's a go!" cried Fitzhugh. "A regular puzzler!"

"Guess it's none of the gang, after all, " said Lockhart. 

Abrams shook his head. 

"Don't you fool yourself, " he said. "They've landed below here, andmaybe they're in town while we've got our mouths open, fly-catchingaround an empty car. "

"Good boy, Abrams, " I said. "My opinion exactly. "

"And what's to be done, then?" he asked anxiously. 

"For the first thing, to visit the telegraph office at once. "

The operator was just locking his little room in the station as we cameup. 

"No, sir, no telegrams, " he said; "none for anybody. "

"This is a new way of running trains, " I said with a show ofindifference, nodding toward the empty car. 

"Oh, there was a party came up, " said the agent; "a dozen fellows ormore. Bill said they took a fancy to get off a mile or more down here, and as they were an ugly-looking crew he didn't say anything to stopthem. "

"I don't see what they can be doing up in this part of the country, " Ireturned innocently. 

"I guess they know their business--anyway, it's none of mine, " said theagent. "Do you go in here, sir? Well, it will save you from a wetting. "

We had been walking toward the hotel, and the chatty agent left usunder its veranda just as the light drops began to patter down in thedust of the road, and to dim the outlines of the distant hills. 

"I reckon that's the gang, " said Fitzhugh. 

"I told you so, " said Abrams. "I knew it was one of Tom Terrill'ssneaky tricks. "

"Shall we take a look for 'em?" asked Lockhart. 

"There's no need, " I replied. 

The home guard of our party received the news calmly. 

Wainwright had established a _modus vivendi_ with his youngcharge, and I saw that he managed to get a word out of him now andthen. I had to abandon the theory that the boy was dumb, but Isuspected that it was fear rather than discretion that bridled histongue. 

"Do you think the gang have got into town?" asked one. 

"They'll have wet jackets if they are on the road, " I returned, lookingat the rain outside. 

"Hadn't we better find out?" inquired Wainwright. 

"Are you in a hurry?" I asked in turn. "The landlord has promised tosend up a good dinner in a few minutes. "

"But you see--"

"Yes, I see, " I interrupted. "I see this--that they are here, thatthere are a dozen or more of them, and that they are ready for anydeviltry. What more can we find out by roaming over the country?"

Wainwright nodded his agreement with me. 

"And then, " I continued, "they won't try to do anything until afterdark--not before the middle of the night, I should say--or until thetownspeople have gone to bed. "

"You're right, sir, " said Abrams. "A dark night and a clear field suitsthat gang best. "

"Well, here's the dinner, " said I; "so you can make yourselves easy. Porter, you may keep an eye on the stairway, and Brown may watch fromthe windows. The rest of us will fall to. "

In the midst of the meal Porter came in. 

"Darby Meeker's in the office below, " he announced. 

"Very good, " I said. "Just take Fitzhugh and Wilson with you, and askMr. Meeker to join us. "

The men looked blank. Porter was the first to speak. 

"You don't mean--"

"I mean to bring him up here, " I said blandly, rising from the table. "I suppose, though, it's my place as host to do the honors. "

"No--no, " came in chorus from the men. 

"Come on, Porter--Fitzhugh--Wilson, " I said; and then added sharply, "sit down, the rest of you! We don't need a regiment to ask a man todinner. "

The others sank back into their seats, and the three I had namedfollowed me meekly down the hall and stairs. 

I had never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Meeker face to face, but Idoubted not that I should be able to pick him out. I was right. I knewhim the moment I saw him. He was tall and broad of shoulder, long ofarm, shifty of eye, and his square jaw was covered with a stubby redbeard. His color heightened as we walked into the office and cut offthe two doors of retreat. 

"An unexpected pleasure, " I said, giving him good day. 

His hand slipped to the side pocket of his sack coat, and then backagain, and he made a remark in an undertone that I fear was notintended for a pleasant greeting. 

"There's a little dinner of a few friends going on up stairs, " I saidpolitely. "Won't you join us?"

Meeker scowled a moment with evident surprise. 

"No, I won't, " he growled. 

"But it is a sad case for a man to dine alone, " I said smoothly. "Youwill be very welcome. "

"No, sir, " said he, looking furtively at my men drawing near, betweenhim and the doors. 

"But I insist, " I said politely. Then I added in a lower tone meant forhim alone: "Resist, you hound, and I'll have you carried up by yourfour legs. "

His face was working with fear and passion. He looked at the blockedway with the eye of a baited animal. 

"I'll be damned first!" he cried. And seizing a chair he whirledaround, dashed it through a window, and leaped through the jagged panesbefore I could spring forward to stop him. 

"Round in front, men!" I cried, motioning my followers to sally throughthe door. "Bring him back!" And an instant later I leaped through thewindow after the flying enemy. 

There was a fall of six feet, and as I landed on a pile of brokenglass, a bit shaken, with the rain beating on my head, it was a fewseconds before I recovered my wits. When I looked, no one was in sight. I heard the men running on the porch of the hotel, so the enemy was notto be sought that way. I set off full speed for the other corner, fiftyyards away, half suspecting an ambush. But at the turn I stopped. Therain-soaked street was empty for a block before me. Far down the nextblock a plodding figure under an umbrella bent to the gusts of the windand tried to ward off the driving spray of the storm. But Darby Meekerhad disappeared as though the earth had swallowed him up. 

"Where is he?" cried Porter, the first of my men to reach my side. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't seen him. "

"He didn't come our way--that I'll swear, " panted Fitzhugh. 

"He was out of sight before I got my feet, " said I. "They must have ahiding-place close by. "

"He must have jumped the fence here, " said Wilson, pointing to acottage just beyond the hotel's back yard. "I'll see about it. " And hevaulted the pickets and looked about the place. 

He was back in a minute with a shake of the head. 

"Well, it's no great matter, " I said. "We can get along without anotherguest for the afternoon. Now get under cover, boys, or you'll be soakedthrough. "

The landlord met us with an air half-anxious, half-angry. 

"I'd like to know who's to pay for this!" he cried. "There's a sash andfour panes of glass gone to smithereens. "

"The gentleman who just went out will be glad to pay for it, if you'llcall it to his attention, " I said blandly. 

"I'll have the law on him!" shouted the landlord, getting red in theface. "And if he's a friend of yours you'd better settle for him, or itwill be the worse for him. "

"I'm afraid he isn't a friend of mine, " I said dubiously. "He didn'tappear to take that view of it. "

"That's so, " admitted the landlord. "But I don't know his name, andsomebody's got to settle for that glass. "

I obliged the landlord with Mr. Meeker's name, and with the bestowal ofthis poor satisfaction returned to the interrupted meal. 

"Well, I reckon he wouldn't have been very pleasant company if you'dgot him, " said one of the men consolingly, when we had told our tale ofthe search for a guest. 

"I suspect he would be less disagreeable in here than out with hisgang, " I returned dryly, and turned the subject. I did not care todiscuss my plan to get a hostage now that it had failed. 

The gray day plashed slowly toward nightfall. The rain fell by fits andstarts, now with a sudden dash, now gently as though it were only ofhalf a mind to fall at all. But the wind blew strong, and the cloudsthat drove up from the far south were dark enough to have borne threatsof a coming deluge. 

As the time wore on I suspected that my men grew uneasy, wondering whatwe were there for, and why I did not make some move. Then I reflectedthat this could not be. It was I who was wondering. The men wereaccustomed to let me do their thinking for them, and could be troubledno more here than in San Francisco. But what was I expected to do?Where could my orders be? Had they gone astray? Had the plans of theUnknown come to disaster through the difficulty of getting thetelegraph on Sunday? The office here was closed. The Unknown, being awoman, I ungallantly reflected, would have neglected to take so small acircumstance into consideration, and she might even now be besiegingthe telegraph office in San Francisco in a vain effort to get word toLivermore. 

On this thought I bestirred myself, and after much trouble had speechwith the young man who combined in his person the offices of telegraphoperator, station master, ticket seller, freight agent and baggagehandler for the place. He objected to opening the office "out of officehours. "

"There might be inducements discovered that would make it worth yourwhile, I suppose?" I said, jingling some silver carelessly in mypocket. 

He smiled. 

"Well, I don't care if I do, " he replied. "Whatever you think is fair, of course. "

It was more than I thought fair, but the agent thawed into friendshipat once, and expressed his readiness to "call San Francisco" till hegot an answer if it took till dark. 

I might have saved my trouble and my coin. San Francisco replied withsome emphasis that there was nothing for me, and never had been, andwho was I, anyhow?

There was nothing to be done. I must possess my soul in patience in thebelief that the Unknown knew what she was about and that I should getmy orders in due time--probably after nightfall, when darkness wouldcover any necessary movement. 

But if I could shift the worry and responsibility of the presentsituation on the Unknown, there was another trouble that loomed largerand more perplexing before my mind with each passing hour. If themission of to-day were prolonged into the morrow, what was to become ofthe Omega deal, and where would Doddridge Knapp's plans of fortune befound? I smiled to think that I should concern myself with thisquestion when I knew that Doddridge Knapp's men were waiting andwatching for my first movement with orders that probably did not stopat murder itself. Yet my trouble of mind increased with the passingtime as I vainly endeavored to devise some plan to meet the difficultythat had been made for me. 

But as I saw no way to straighten out this tangle, I turned myattention to the boy in the hope of getting from him some informationthat might throw light on the situation. 

"He's as shy as a young quail, " said Wainwright, when my advances werereceived in stubborn silence. 

"You seem to be getting along pretty well with him, " I suggested. 

"Yes, sir; he'll talk a bit with me, but he's as close-mouthed a chapas you'll find in the state, sir, unless it's one of them deef anddummies. "

I made another unsuccessful attempt to cultivate the acquaintance of mycharge. 

"You've got a day's job before you if you get him to open his head, "said Wainwright, amused at the failure of my efforts as an infant-charmer. 

"What has he been talking about?" I inquired, somewhat disgusted. 

"The train, " chuckled Wainwright. "Blamed if I think he's seen anythingelse since he started. "

"The train?"

"Yes; the one we come on. He's been talking about it, and wonderingwhat I'd do with it and without it till I reckon we've covered prettynear everything that could happen to a fellow with a train or withoutone. "

"Is that the only subject of interest?"

"Well, he did go so far as to say that the milk was different here, andthat he wanted a kind of cake we didn't get at dinner. "

I attacked the young man on his weak point, and got some brief answersin reply to my remarks on the attractiveness of locomotives and thevirtues of cars. But as any venture away from the important subject wasmet with the silence of the clam, I had at last to give up with a wilddesire to shake the young man until some more satisfactory idea shouldcome uppermost. 

As darkness came on, the apprehensions of danger which had made noimpression on me by daylight, began to settle strongly on my spirits. The wind that dashed the rain-drops in gusts on the panes seemed towhistle a warning, and the splash of the water outside was as themuttering of a tale of melancholy in an unknown tongue. 

I concealed my fears and depressions from the men, and with thelighting of the lamps made my dispositions to meet any attack thatmight come. I had satisfied myself that the rear bedroom, that facedthe south, could not be entered from the outside without the aid ofladders. The parlor showed a sheer drop to the street on the west, andI felt assured we were safe on that side. But the front windows of theparlor, and the front bedroom which joined it, opened on the verandaroof in common with a dozen other rooms. Inside, the hallway, perhapseight feet wide and twenty-five feet long, offered the only approach toour rooms from the stairs. The situation was not good for defense, andat the thought I had a mind even then to seek other quarters. 

It was too late for such a move, however, and I decided to make thebest of the position. I placed the boy in the south bedroom, whichcould be reached only through the parlor. With him I placed Wainwrightand Fitzhugh, the two strongest men of the party. The north bedroom, opening on the hallway, the veranda roof and the parlor, looked to bethe weakest part of my position, but I thought it might be used toadvantage as a post of observation. The windows were guarded withshutters of no great strength. We closed and secured those of theparlor and the inner bedroom as well as possible. Those of the northbedroom I left open. By leaving the room dark it would be easy for asentinel to get warning of an assault by way of the veranda roof. Istationed Porter in the hall, and Abrams in the dark bedroom, whileLockhart, Wilson, Brown and I held the parlor and made ourselvescomfortable until the time should come to relieve the men on guard. 

One by one the lights that could be seen here and there through thetown disappeared, the sounds from the streets and the other parts ofthe house came more infrequently and at last were smothered in silence, and only darkness and the storm remained. 

I thrust open the door to the bedroom to see that the boy and hisguards were safe, and this done I turned down the light, threw myselfon the floor before the door that protected my charge, and mused overthe strange events that had crowded so swiftly upon me. 

Subtle warnings of danger floated over my senses between sleeping andwaking, and each time I dropped into a doze I awoke with a start, tosee only the dimly-lighted forms of my men before me, and to hear onlythe sweep and whistle of the wind outside and the dash of water againstthe shutters. Thrice I had been aroused thus, when, on the borderlandbetween dreams and waking, a voice reached my ear. 

"S-s-t! What was that?"

I sprang up, wide-awake, revolver in hand. It was Lockhart who spoke. We all strained our ears to listen. There was nothing to be heard butthe moan of the wind and the dash of water. 

"What was it?" I whispered. 

"I don't know. "

"I heard nothing. "

"It was a coo-hoo--like the call of an owl, but--"

"But you thought it was a man?" Lockhart nodded. Brown and Wilson hadnot heard it. 

"Was it inside or outside?"

"It was out here, I thought, " said Lockhart doubtfully, pointing to thestreet that ran by the side of the hotel. 

I opened the door to the dark bedroom in which Abrams kept watch. Itswung noiselessly to my cautious touch. For a moment I could seenothing of my henchman, but the window was open. Then, in theobscurity, I thought I discovered his body lying half-way across thewindow-sill. I waited for him to finish his observations on theweather, but as he made no move I was struck with the fear that he hadmet foul play and touched him lightly. 

In a flash he had turned on me, and I felt the muzzle of a revolverpressing against my side. 

"If you wouldn't mind turning that gun the other way, it would suit mejust as well, " I said. 

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Abrams with a gulp. "I thought Darby Meekerand his gang was at my back, sure. "

"Did you hear anything?" I asked. 

"Yes; there was a call out here a bit ago. And there's half a dozen menor more out there now--right at the corner. "

"Are you sure?"

"Yes; I was a-listening to 'em when you give me such a start. "

"What were they saying?"

"I couldn't hear a word. "

"Give warning at the first move to get into the house. Blaze away withyour gun if anybody tries to climb on to the porch. "

Porter had heard nothing, but was wide awake, watching by the light ofthe lamp that hung at the head of the stairway. And after a caution tovigilance I returned to my chair. 

For half an hour I listened closely. The men were open-eyed but silent. The storm kept up its mournful murmur, but no sound that I couldattribute to man came to my straining ears. 

Suddenly there was a cry from the hall. 

"Who's there?" It was Porter's voice. 

An instant later there was a crash of glass, an explosion seemed toshake the house, and there was a rush of many feet. 

I leaped to the door and flung it open, Lockhart, Wilson and Browncrowding close behind me. A body of men filled the hallway, and Porterwas struggling in the hands of three ruffians. His revolver, whose shotwe had heard, had been knocked from his hand and lay on the floor. 

The sudden appearance of four more weapons in the open doorway startledthe enemy into pausing for a moment. I sprang forward and gave thenearest of Porter's assailants a blow that sent him staggering into themidst of his band, and with a wrench Porter tore himself loose from theother two and was with us again. 

"What does this mean?" I cried angrily to the invaders. "What are youhere for?"

There were perhaps a dozen of them altogether, and in the midst of theband I saw the evil face and snake-eyes of Tom Terrill. At the sight ofhis repulsive features I could scarce refrain from sending a bullet inhis direction. 

Darby Meeker growled an answer. 

"You know what we're here for. "

"You have broken into a respectable house like a band of robbers, " Icried. "What do you want?"

"You know what we want, Mr. Wilton, " was the surly answer. "Give us theboy and we won't touch you. "

"And if not?"

There was silence for a few moments. 

"What are you waiting for?" growled a voice from beyond the turn of thehall. 

At the sound I thrilled to the inmost fiber. Was it not the growl ofthe Wolf? Could I be mistaken in those tones? I listened eagerly foranother word that might put it beyond doubt. 

"Well, are you going to give him up?" asked the hoarse voice of Meeker. 

"There has got to be some better reason for it than your demand, " Isuggested. 

"Well, we've got reasons enough here. Stand ready, boys. "

"Look out!" I said to my men, with a glance behind. As I turned I sawwithout noting it that Wainwright and Fitzhugh had come out of theboy's room to take a hand in the impending trouble. Lockhart and Wilsonslipped in front of me. 

"Get back and look after the boy, " whispered the former. "We can hold'em here. "

"Move ahead there!" shouted a fierce voice that again thrilled the earand heart with the growl of the Wolf. "What are you afraid of?"

"Stand fast, boys, " I said to my men. "Wainwright, keep close to thebedroom. " Then I shouted defiance to the enemy. "The first man thatmoves forward gets killed! There are eight revolvers here. "

Then I saw that Wainwright had come forward, despite my bidding, eagerto take his share of the onslaught. And by some freak of the spirit ofthe perverse the boy, who had shown himself so timid during the day, had now slipped out of his room and climbed upon a chair to see whatthe excitement was about, as though danger and death were the lastthings in the world with which he had to reckon. 

I caught a glimpse of his form out of the tail of my eye as he mountedthe chair in his night-dress. I turned with an exclamation toWainwright and was leaping to cover him from a possible bullet, whenthere was a roar of rage and the voice of Terrill rang through thehall:

"Tricked again!" he cried with a dreadful oath. "It's the wrong boy!"

CHAPTER XXIV

ON THE ROAD

The wrong boy!

For a moment I could not understand nor believe; and when the meaningof the words came to me, I groped in mental darkness, unable to come intouch with the significant facts by which I was surrounded. The solidearth had fallen from under me, and I struggled vainly to get footingin my new position. 

But there was no time for speculation. Half in a daze I heard a roar ofcurses, orders, a crash of glass as the lamp was extinguished, and overall came the prolonged growl of a wolf-voice, hoarse and shaken withanger. There was a vision of a wolf-head rising above the outline offaces a few yards away, dark, distorted, fierce, with eyes that blazedthreats, and in an instant I found myself in the center of astruggling, shouting, swearing mass of savage men, fighting with naughtbut the instinct of blind rage. Shots were fired, but for the most partit was a hand-to-hand struggle. The clearest picture that comes to meout of the confused tangle is that of Wainwright handling his pistollike a bowie knife, and trying to perform a surgical operationextensive enough to let a joke into Darby Meeker's skull. 

I doubt not that I was as crazy as the rest. The berserker rage was onme, and I struck right and left. But in my madness there was one ideastrong in my mind. It was to reach the evil face and snake-eyes of TomTerrill, and stamp the life out of him. With desperate rage Ishouldered and fought till his white face with its venomous hatred wasnext to mine, till the fingers of my left hand gripped his throat, andmy right hand tried to beat out his brains with a six-shooter. 

"Damn you!" he gasped, striking fiercely at me. "I've been waiting foryou!"

I tightened my grip and spoke no word. He writhed and turned, strivingto free himself. I had knocked his revolver from his hand, and he triedin vain to reach it. My grip was strong with the strength of madness, and the white face before me grew whiter except where a smear of bloodclosed the left eye and trickled down over the cheek beneath. A traceof fear stole into the venomous anger of the one eye that wasunobscured, as he strove without success to guard himself from myblows. But he gave a sudden thrust, and with a sinuous writhe he wasfree, while I was carried back by the rush of men with the vagueimpression that something was amiss with me. Then a great light flamedup before me in which the struggling, shouting mob, the close hall androom, and the universe itself melted away, and I was alone. 

The next impression that came to me was that of a voice from animmeasurable distance. 

"He's coming to, " it said; and then beside it I heard a strange wailingcry. 

"What is it?" I asked, trying to sit up. My voice seemed to come frommiles away, and to belong to some other man. 

"That's it, you're all right, " said the voice encouragingly, and aboutthe half of Niagara fell on my face. 

I sat up and beheld the room whirling about, the walls, the furniture, and the people dancing madly together to a strange wailing sound thatcarried me back to the dens of Chinatown. Then the mists before my eyescleared away, and I found that I was on the floor of the inner bedroomand Wainwright had emptied a water-jug over me. The light of a smallkerosene lamp gave a gloomy illumination to the place. Lockhart andFitzhugh leaned against the door, and Wilson bent with Wainwright overme. The boy was sitting on the bed, crying shrilly over the melancholysituation. 

I tried to stagger to my feet. 

"Wait a bit, " said Wainwright. "You'll get your head in a minute. "

I felt acutely conscious already that I had my head. It seemed a verylarge head that had suffered from an internal explosion. 

"What is it?" I asked, gathering my scattered wits. "What hashappened?"

"We've been licked, " said Wainwright regretfully. "The rest of the boysgot took, but we got in here. Fitz and me seen the nasty knock you got, and dragged you back, and when we got you here the parlor was full ofthe hounds, and Porter and Abrams and Brown was missing. We found youwas cut, and we've tried to fix you up. "

I looked at my bandaged arm, and put one more count in the indictmentagainst Terrill. He had tried to stab me over the heart at the time hehad wrenched free, but he had merely slashed my arm. It was not asevere wound, but it gave me pain. 

"Only a scratch, " said Wainwright. 

I envied the philosophic calm with which he regarded it. 

"It'll heal, " I returned shortly. "Where is the other gang? Are theygone?"

"No; there's half a dozen of 'em out in the parlor, I reckon. "

"You'd better tell him, " said Fitzhugh, shifting an unpleasant task. 

"Well, " said Wainwright, "we heard orders given to shoot the first manthat comes out before morning, but before all to kill you if you sticksyour nose outside before sun-up. "

The amiable intentions of the victors set me to thinking. If it wasimportant to keep me here till morning, it must be important to me toget out. There was no duty to keep me here, for I need fear no attackon the boy who was with us. I looked at my watch, and found it was nearone o'clock. 

"Tie those blankets together, " I ordered, as soon as I was able to getmy feet. 

The men obeyed me in silence, while Wainwright vainly tried to quietthe child. I was satisfied to have him cry, for the more noise he madethe less our movements would be heard. I had a plan that I thoughtmight be carried out. 

While the others were at work, I cautiously raised the window andpeered through the shutters. The rain was falling briskly, and the windstill blew a gale. I thought I distinguished the dark figure of a manon guard within a few feet of the building, and my heart sank. 

"How many are in the parlor, Wilson?" I asked. 

Wilson applied his eye to the keyhole. 

"Can't see anybody but that one-eyed fellow, Broderick, but there mightbe more. "

A flash of memory came to me, and I felt in my pocket for MotherBorton's mysterious scrawl. "Give that to a one-eyed man, " she hadsaid. It was a forlorn hope, but worth the trying. 

"Hand this to Broderick, " I said, "as soon as you can do it without anyone's seeing you. "

Wilson did not like the task, but he took the envelope and silentlybrought the door ajar. His first investigations were evidentlyreassuring, for he soon had half his body outside. 

"He's got it, " he said on reappearing. 

A little later there was a gentle tap at the door, and the head of theone-eyed man was thrust in. 

"It's as much as my life's worth, " he whispered. "What do you want meto do?"

"How many men are in the street below here?"

"There's one; but more are in call. "

"Well, I want him got out of the way. "

"That's easy, " said Broderick, with a diabolical wink of his one eye. "I'll have him change places with me. "

"Good! How many men are here?"

"You don't need to know that. There's enough to bury you. "

"Have Meeker and Terrill gone?"

"Tom? He's in the next room here, and can count it a mercy of thesaints if he gits out in a week. Meeker's gone with the old man. Well, I can't stay a-gabbin' any longer, or I'll be caught, and then thedivil himsilf couldn't save me. "

I shuddered at the thought of the "old man, " and the shadow ofDoddridge Knapp weighed on my spirits. 

"Are you ready for an excursion, Fitzhugh?" I whispered. 

He nodded assent. 

"Well, we'll be out of here in a minute or two. Take that overcoat. I've got one. Now tie that blanket to the bedpost. No, it won't be longenough. You'll have to hold it for us, boys. "

I heard the change of guards below, and, giving directions toWainwright, with funds to settle our account with the house, I blew outthe lamp, quietly swung open the shutter and leaned over the sill. 

"Hold on to the blanket, boys. Follow me, Fitz, " I whispered, andclimbed out. The strain on my injured arm as I swung off gave me aburning pain, but I repressed the groan that came into my throat. Ihalf-expected a bullet to bring me to the ground in a hurry, for I wasnot over-trustful of the good faith of Mother Borton's friend. But Igot to the ground in safety, and was relieved when Fitzhugh stoodbeside me, and the improvised rope was drawn up. 

"Where now?" whispered Fitzhugh. 

"To the stable. "

As we slipped along to the corner a man stepped out before us. 

"Don't shoot, " he said; "it's me, --Broderick. Tell Mother Borton Iwouldn't have done it for anybody but her. "

"I'm obliged to you just the same, " I said. "And here's a bit of drinkmoney. Now, where are my men?"

"Don't know. In the lockup, I reckon. "

"How is that?"

"Why, you see, Meeker tells the fellows here he has a warrant for you, --that you're the gang of burglars that's wanted for the Parrott murder. And he had to show the constable and the landlord and some others thewarrant, too. "

"How many were hurt?"

"Six or seven. Two of your fellows looked pretty bad when they wascarried out. "

We turned down a by-street, but as soon as the guard had disappeared weretraced our steps and hastened to the Thatcher stables. 

The rain was whipped into our faces as we bent against the wind, andthe whish and roar of the gale among the trees, and the rattle of looseboards and tins, as they were tossed and shaken behind the houses, gavea melancholy accompaniment to our hasty march. 

"Hist!" said Fitzhugh in my ear. "Is that some one following us?"

I drew him into a corner, and peered back into the darkness. 

"I can see no one. "

"I thought I heard a man running. "

"Wait a minute. If there is any one after us he must lose us righthere. "

We listened in silence. Only the plash of water and the voice of thestorm came to our ears. 

"Well, if they are looking for us they have gone the other way. Comealong, " I said. 

We nearly missed the stable in the darkness, and it was several minutesbefore we roused Thatcher to a state in which he could put together thetwo ideas that we wanted to get in, and that it was his place to get upand let us in. 

"Horses to-night?" he gasped, throwing up his hands. "Holy Moses! Icouldn't think of letting the worst plug of the lot out in this storm. "

"Well, I want your best. "

"You'll have to do it, Dick, " said Fitzhugh with a few words ofexplanation. "He'll make it all right for you. "

"Where are you going?" said Thatcher. 

"Oakland. "

He threw up his hands once more. 

"Great Scott! you can't do it. The horses can't travel fifty miles atnight and in this weather. You'd best wait for the morning train. Theexpress will be through here before five. "

I hesitated a moment, but the chances of being stopped were too great. 

"I must go, " I said decidedly. "I can't wait here. "

"I have it, " said Thatcher. "By hard riding you can get to Niles intime to catch the freight as it goes up from San Jose. It will get youdown in time for the first boat, if that's what you want. "

"Good! How far is it?"

"We call it eighteen miles, --it's a little over that by the road. There's only one nasty bit. That's in the canyon. "

"I think we shall need the pleasure of your company, " I said. 

The stableman was moved by a conflict of feelings. He was muchindisposed to a twenty-mile ride in the storm and darkness; yet he wasplainly unwilling to trust his horses unless he went with them. Ioffered him a liberal price for the service. 

"It's a bad job, but if you must, you must, " he groaned. And he soonhad three horses under the saddle. 

I eyed the beasts with some disfavor. They were evidently half-mustang, and I thought undersized for such a journey. But I was to learn beforethe night was out the virtues of strength and endurance that lie in theblood of the Indian horse. 

"Hist! What's that?" said Fitzhugh, extinguishing the light. 

The voices of the storm and the uneasy champing of the horses were theonly sounds that rewarded a minute's listening. 

"We must chance it, " said I, after looking cautiously into thedarkness, and finding no signs of a foe. 

And in a moment more we were galloping down the street, the hoof-beatsscarcely sounding in the softened earth of the roadway. Not a word wasspoken after the start as we turned through the side streets to avoidthe approaches to the hotel. I looked and listened intently, expectingeach bunch of deeper darkness in the streets to start into life withshouts of men and crack of revolvers in an effort to stay our flight. Thatcher led the way, and Fitzhugh rode by my side. 

"Look there!" cried Fitzhugh in my ear. "There's some one running tothe hotel!"

I looked, and thought I could see a form moving through the blackness. The hotel could just be distinguished two blocks away. It might well bea scout of the enemy hastening to give the alarm. 

"Never mind, " I said. "We've got the start. "

Thatcher suddenly turned to the west, and in another minute we were onthe open highway, with the steady beat of the horses' hoofs splashing awild rhythm on the muddy road. 

The wind, which had been behind us, now whipped the rain into our facesfrom the left, half blinding us as the gusts sent the spray into oureyes, then tugged fiercely at coats and hats as if nothing could be sopleasing to the powers of the air as to send our raiment in a witch'sflight through the clouds. 

With the town once behind us, I felt my spirits rise with every strokeof the horse's hoofs beneath me. The rain and the wind were friendsrather than foes. Yet my arm pained me sharply, and I was forced tocarry the reins in the whip hand. 

Here the road was broader, and we rode three abreast, silent, watchful, each busy with his own thoughts, and all alert for the signs of chasebehind. Thrice my heart beat fast with the sound in my ears ofgalloping pursuers. Thrice I laughed to think that the patter offalling drops on the roadway should deceive my sense of sound. Here thetrack narrowed, and Thatcher shot ahead, flinging mud and water fromhis horse's heels fair upon us. There it broadened once more, and ourwilling beasts pressed forward and galloped beside the stableman's tillthe hoofs beat in unison. 

"There!" said Thatcher, suddenly pulling his horse up to a walk. "We'refive miles out, and they've got a big piece to make up if they're onour track. We'll breathe the horses a bit. "

The beasts were panting a little, but chafed at the bits as we walkedthem, and tossed their heads uneasily to the pelting of the storm. 

"Hark!" I cried. "Did you hear that?" I was almost certain that thesound of a faint halloo came from behind us. I was not alone in thethought. 

"The dern fools!" said Fitzhugh. "They want a long chase, I guess, togo through the country yelling like a pack of wild Injuns. "

"I reckon 'twas an owl, " said Thatcher; "but we might as well bemoving. We needn't take no chances while we've got a good set of heelsunder us. Get up, boys. "

The willing brutes shot forward into the darkness at the word, andtossed the rain-drops from their ears with many an angry nod. 

Of the latter part of the journey I have but a confused remembrance. Ihad counted myself a good rider in former days, but I had not mounted ahorse for years. I had slept but little in forty-eight hours, and, worst of all, my arm pained me more and more. With the fatigue and thejar of the steady gallop, it seemed to swell until it was the body andI the poor appendage to it. My head ached from the blow it had got, andin a stupor of dull pain I covered the weary miles. But for thecomfortable Mexican saddle I fear I should have sunk under the fatigueand distress of the journey and left friends and enemies to find theirway out of the maze as best they might. 

I have a dim recollection of splashing over miles of level road, drenched with water and buffeted by gusts of wind that faced us moreand more, with the monotonous beat of hoofs ever in my ears, and themonotonous stride of the horse beneath me ever racking my tiredmuscles. Then we slackened pace in a road that wound in sharp descentthrough a gap in the hills, with the rush and roar of a torrent beneathand beside us, the wind sweeping with wild blasts through the treesthat lined the way and covered the hillside and seeming to change thedirection of its attack at every moment. 

"We'll make it, I reckon, " said Thatcher, at last. "It's only two milesfarther, and the train hasn't gone up yet. "

The horses by this time were well-blown. The road was heavy, and we hadpressed them hard. Yet they struggled with spirit as they panted, andanswered to the whip when we called on them for the last stretch as weonce more found a level road. 

There was no sign of life about the station as we drew our panting, steaming horses to a halt before it, and no train was in sight. Therain dripping heavily from the eaves was the only sound that came fromit, and a dull glow from an engine that lay alone on a siding was theonly light that was to be seen. 

"What's the time?" asked Thatcher. "We must have made a quick trip. "

"Twenty minutes past three, " said I, striking a match under my coat tosee my watch-face. 

"Immortal snakes!" cried Thatcher. "I'm an idiot. This is Sundaynight. "

I failed to see the connection of these startling discoveries, but Ihad spirit enough to argue the case. "It's Monday morning, now. "

"Well, it's the same thing. The freight doesn't run to-night. "

I awoke to some interest at this announcement. 

"Why, it's got to run, or we must take to saddle again for the rest ofthe way. "

"These horses can't go five miles more at that gait, let alone twenty-five, " protested Thatcher. 

"Well, then, we must get other horses here. "

"Come, " said Fitzhugh; "what's the use of that when there's an engineon the siding doing nothing?"

"Just the idea. Find the man in charge. "

But there did not appear to be any man in charge. The engineer andfireman were gone, and the watchman had been driven to cover by thefoul weather. 

We looked the iron horse over enviously. 

"Why, this is the engine that came up with the special this noon, " saidFitzhugh. "I remember the number. "

"Good! We are ahead of the enemy, then. They haven't had a chance toget the wire, and we beat them on the road. We must find the engineerand get it ourselves. "

"I've got an idea, " said Fitzhugh. "It's this: why not take the machinewithout asking? I was a fireman once, and I can run it pretty well. "

I thought a moment on the risk, but the need was greater. 

"Just the thing. Take the money for the horses to your friend there. I'll open the switch. "

In a few minutes Fitzhugh was back. 

"I told him, " he chuckled. "He says it's a jail offense, but it's theonly thing we can do. "

"It may be a case of life and death, " I said. "Pull out. "

"There's mighty little steam here--hardly enough to move her, " saidFitzhugh from the cab, stirring the fire. 

But as he put his hand to the lever she did move easily on to the maintrack, and rested while I reset the switch. 

Then I climbed back into the cab, and sank down before the warm blazein a stupor of faintness as the engine glided smoothly and swiftly downthe track. 

CHAPTER XXV

A FLUTTER IN THE MARKET

The gray pall of the storm hung over San Francisco. The dim light ofthe morning scarcely penetrated into the hallways as we climbed thestairs that led to our lodgings, leaving behind us the trail ofdripping garments. I heaved a sigh of relief as Trent opened the door, and we once more faced the pleasing prospect of warmth, dry clothingand friends. 

We had made the run from Niles without incident, and had left theengine on a siding at Brooklyn without being observed. If the railroadcompany still has curiosity, after all these years, to know how thatengine got from Niles to Brooklyn, I trust that the words I have justwritten may be taken as an explanation and apology. 

"Where's Barkhouse?" I asked, becoming comfortable once more with dryclothes, a warm room and a fresh bandage on my arm. 

"He hasn't shown up, sir, " said Trent. "Owens and Larson went out tolook for him toward evening yesterday, but there wasn't a sign of him. "

"Try again to-day. You may pick up news at Borton's or some of thewater-front saloons. "

"Oh, there was a letter for you, " said Trent. "I near forgot. "

I snatched the envelope, for the address was in the hand of theUnknown. The sheet within bore the words:

"Where is the boy? Have you removed him? Send the key to Richmond. Letme know when you return, for I must see you as soon as it is safe. "

I read the note three or four times, and each time I was morebewildered than before. I had left the boy in Livermore, but certainlyhe was not the one she meant. He was the "wrong boy, " and my employermust be well aware that I had taken him at her orders. Or could thatexpedition be a jest of the enemy to divert my attention? I dismissedthis theory as soon as it suggested itself. 

But where was the "right boy"? I had for a moment a sinking feeling ofterror in the thought that the enemy had captured him. Mother Borton'swarning that they had found his place of hiding returned to confirmthis thought. But in an instant I remembered that the enemy hadfollowed me in force to Livermore in chase of the wrong boy, and hadattacked me in pure chagrin at the trick that had been played on them. That showed me beyond question that they had not obtained possession ofthe right boy. And the "key" that I was to send to Richmond, what wasthat?

The closing portion of the note set my heart beating fast. At last Iwas to have the opportunity to meet my mysterious employer face toface. But what explanation was I to make? What reception would I meetwhen she learned that Henry Wilton had given up his life in herservice, and that I, who had taken his place, could tell nothing of thethings she wished to know?

I wrote a brief note to Richmond stating that I had no key, inclosedthe Unknown's note, with the remark that I had returned, and gave it toOwens to deliver. I was in some anxiety lest he might not know whereRichmond was to be found. But he took the note without question, and Ilay down with orders that I was to be called in time to reach theopening session of the stock market, and in a moment was fast asleep. 

The Stock Exchange was a boiling and bubbling mass of excited men as Ireached it. Pine Street, wet and sloppy, was lined with a mob ofumbrellas that sheltered anxious speculators of small degree, and thegreat building was thronged with the larger dealers--with millionairesand brokers, with men who were on their way to fortune, and those whohad been millionaires and now were desperately struggling against theodds of fate as they saw their wealth swept away in the gamblers'whirlpool. 

I shouldered my way through the crowd into the buzzing Board-room asthe session opened. Excitement thrilled the air, but the opening waslistless. All knew that the struggle over Omega was to be settled thatday, and that Doddridge Knapp or George Decker was to find ruin at theend of the call, and all were eager to hasten the decisive moment. 

Wallbridge came panting before me, his round, bald head bobbing withexcitement. 

"Ready for the fray, eh? Oh, it's worth money to see this. Talk of yourtheaters now, eh? Got any orders?"

"Not yet, " I returned, hardly sharing the little man's enjoyment of thescene. The size of the stakes made me tremble. 

I could see nothing of Doddridge Knapp, and the uneasy feeling that hewas at Livermore came over me. What was my duty in case he did notappear? Had he left his fortune at the mercy of the market to followhis lawless schemes? Had he been caught in his own trap, and was he nowto be ruined as the result of his own acts? For a moment I felt avengeful hope that he might have come to grief. But when I rememberedthat it was Luella who must suffer with him, I determined to make aneffort to save the deal, even without authority, if the money or creditfor buying the remaining shares was to be had. 

I might have spared my worry. The call had not proceeded far, when themassive form of Doddridge Knapp appeared at the railing. The strongwolf-marks of the face were stronger than ever as he watched the sceneon the floor. I looked in vain for a trace upon him of last night'swork. If he had been at Livermore, he showed no sign of the passions oranxieties that had filled the dark hours. 

He nodded carelessly for me to come to him as he caught my eye. 

"You have the stock?"

"All safe. "

"And the proxies?"

"Just as you ordered. "

The King of the Street looked at me sharply. 

"I told you to keep sober till this deal was over, " he growled. 

"You are obeyed, " I said. "I have not touched a drop. "

"Well, you look as though you had taken a romp with the devil, " hesaid. 

"I have, " I returned with a meaning look. 

His eyes fell before my steady gaze, and he turned them on the noisythrong before us. 

"Any orders?" I asked at last. 

"Be where I can call you the minute I want you, " he replied. 

"Now, my boy, " he continued after a minute, "you are going to see whathasn't been seen in the Boards for years, and I reckon you'll never seeit again. "

"What is it?" I asked politely. I was prepared for almostany kind of fire-works in that arena. 

Doddridge Knapp made no reply, but raised his hand as if to commandsilence, and a moment later the call of Omega was heard. And, for amarvel, a strange stillness did fall on the throng. 

At the word of call I saw Doddridge Knapp step down to the floor of thepit, calm, self-possessed, his shoulders squared and his look as proudand forceful as that of a monarch who ruled by the might of his sword, while a grim smile played about his stern mouth. 

The silence of the moment that followed was almost painful. In thatplace it seemed the most unnatural of prodigies. Brokers, speculatorsand spectators were as surprised as I, and a long-drawn "Ah-h!"followed by a buzzing as of a great swarm of bees greeted hisappearance. The stillness and the buzzing seemed to take an hour, butit could not have been as much as a minute when the voice of DoddridgeKnapp rang like a trumpet through the Boardroom. 

"Five hundred for Omega!"

This was a wild jump from the three hundred and twenty-five that wasmarked against the stock at the close on Saturday, but I supposed theKing of the Street knew what he was about. 

At the bid of Doddridge Knapp a few cries rose here and there, and hewas at once the center of a group of gesticulating brokers. Then I sawDecker, pale, eager, alert, standing by the rail across the room, signaling orders to men who howled bids and plunged wildly into thecrowd that surrounded his rival. 

The bids and offers came back and forth with shouts and barks, yet theymade but a murmur compared to the whirlwind of sound that had arisenfrom the pit at the former struggles I had witnessed. There seemed butfew blocks of the stock on the market. Yet the air was electric withthe tense strain of thousands of minds eager to catch the faintestindication of the final result, and I found it more exciting than thewildest days of clamor and struggle. 

"This is great, " chuckled Wallbridge, taking post before me. "Therehasn't been anything like it since Decker captured Chollar in theelection of seventy-three. You don't remember that, I guess?"

"I wasn't in the market then, " I admitted. 

"Lord! Just to hear that!" cried the stout little man, mopping hisglistening head frantically and quivering with nervous excitement. "Doddridge Knapp bids fifteen hundred for the stock and only gets fiveshares. Oh, why ain't I a chance to get into this?"

I heard a confused roar, above which rose the fierce tones of DoddridgeKnapp. 

"How many shares has he got to-day?" I asked. 

"Not forty yet. "

"And the others?"

"There's been about two thousand sold. "

I gripped the rail in nervous tension. The battle seemed to be goingagainst the King of the Street. 

"Oh!" gasped Wallbridge, trembling with excitement. "Did you hear that?There! It's seventeen hundred--now it's seventeen-fifty! Whew!"

I echoed the exclamation. 

"Oh, why haven't I got ten thousand shares?" he groaned. 

"Who is getting them?"

"Knapp got the last lot. O-oh, look there! Did you ever see the like ofthat?"

I looked. Decker, hatless, with hair disheveled, had leaped the railand was hurrying into the throng that surrounded Doddridge Knapp. 

"There was never two of 'em on the floor before, " cried Wallbridge. 

At Decker's appearance the brokers opened a lane to him, the criesfell, and there was an instant of silence, as the kings of the marketthus came face to face. 

I shall never forget the sight. Doddridge Knapp, massive, calm, forceful, surveyed his opponent with unruffled composure. He wasdressed in a light gray-brown suit that made him seem larger than ever. Decker was nervous, disheveled, his dress of black setting off thepallor of his face, till it seemed as white as his shirt bosom, as hefronted the King of the Street. 

The foes faced each other, watchful as two wrestlers looking to seizean opening, and the Board-room held its breath. Then the crowd ofbrokers closed in again and the clamor rose once more. 

I could not make out the progress of the contest, but the trained earof Wallbridge interpreted the explosions of inarticulate sound. 

"Phew! listen to that! Two thousand, twenty-one hundred, twenty-onefifty. Great snakes! See her jump!" he cried. "Decker's getting it. "

My heart sank. Doddridge Knapp must have smothered his brain once morein the Black Smoke, and was now paying the price of indulgence. And hisplans of wealth were a sacrifice to the wild and criminal scheme intowhich he had entered in his contest against the Unknown. I saw thewreck of fortune engulf Mrs. Knapp and Luella, and groaned in spirit. Then a flash of hope shot through me. Luella Knapp, the heiress tomillions, was beyond my dreams, but Luella Knapp, the daughter of aruined speculator, would not be too high a prize for a poor man to sethis eyes upon. 

The clang of the gong recalled me from the reverie that had shut outthe details of the scene before me. 

"There! Did you hear that?" groaned Wall-bridge. "Omega closes at twothousand six hundred and Decker takes every trick. Oh, why didn't youhave me on the floor out there? By the great horn spoon, I'd 'a' hadevery share of that stock, and wouldn't 'a' paid more than half as muchfor it, neither. "

I sighed and turned, sick at heart, to meet the King of the Street ashe shouldered his way from the floor. 

There was not a trace of his misfortune to be read in his face. ButDecker, the victor, moved away like a man oppressed, pale, staggering, half-fainting, as though the nervous strain had brought him to the edgeof collapse. 

Doddridge Knapp made his way to the doors and signed me to follow him, but spoke no word until we stood beside the columns that guard theentrance. 

The rain fell in a drizzle, but anxious crowds lined the streets, dodged into doorways for shelter, or boldly moved across the walks andthe cobbled roadway under the protection of bobbing umbrellas. The newsof the unprecedented jump in Omega in which the price had doubledthrice in a few minutes, had flown from mouth to mouth, and excitementwas at fever heat. 

"That was warm work, " said Doddridge Knapp after a moment's halt. 

"I was very sorry to have it turn out so, " I said. 

A grim smile passed over his face. 

"I wasn't, " he growled good-humoredly. "I thought it was rather neatlydone. "

I looked at him in surprise. 

"Oh, I forgot that I hadn't seen you, " he continued. "And like enough Ishouldn't have told you if I had. The truth is, I found a block of fourthousand shares on Saturday night, and made a combination with them. "

"Then the mine is yours?"

"The directors will be. "

"But you were buying shares this morning. "

"A mere optical illusion, Wilton. I was in fact a seller, for I hadshares to spare. "

"It was a very good imitation. "

"I don't wonder you were taken in, my boy. Decker was fooled to thetune of about a million dollars this morning. I thought it was ratherneat for a clean-up. "

I thought so, too, and the King of the Street smiled at my exclamationsover his cleverness. But my congratulations were cut short as a smalldark man pressed his way to the corner where we stood, and whispered inDoddridge Knapp's ear. 

"Was he sure?" asked the King of the Street. 

"Those were his exact words. "

"When was this?"

"Not five minutes ago. "

"Run to Caswell's. Tell him to wait for me. "

The messenger darted off and we followed briskly. Caswell, I found, wasan attorney, and we were led at once to the inner office. 

"Come in with me, " said my employer. "I expect I shall need you, and itwill save explanations. "

The lawyer was a tall, thin man, with chalky, expressionless features, but his eyes gave life to his face with their keen, almost brilliant, vision. 

"Decker's playing the joker, " said the King of the Street. "I've beatenhim in the market, but he's going to make a last play with thedirectors. There's a meeting called for twelve-thirty. They are goingto give him a two years' contract for milling, and they talk ofdeclaring twenty thousand shares of my stock invalid. "

"How many directors have you got?"

"Two--Barber and myself. Decker thinks he has Barber. "

"Then you want an injunction?"

"Yes. "

The lawyer looked at his watch. 

"The meeting is at twelve-thirty. H'm. You'll have to hold them forhalf an hour--maybe an hour. "

"Make it half an hour, " growled Doddridge Knapp. "Just remember thattime is worth a thousand dollars a second till that injunction isserved. "

He went out without another word, and there was a commotion of clerksas we left. 

"How's your nerve, Wilton?" inquired the King of the Street calmly. "Are you ready for some hot work?"

"Quite ready. "

"Have you a revolver about you?"

"Yes. "

"Very good. I don't want you to kill any one, but it may come inhandy as an evidence of your good intentions. "

He led the way to California Street below Sansome, where we climbed aflight of stairs and went down a hall to a glass door that bore thegilt and painted letters, "Omega Mining Co. , J. D. Storey, Pres't. "

"There's five minutes to spare, " said my employer. "He may be alone. "

A stout, florid man, with red side-whiskers and a general air of goodliving, sat by an over-shadowing desk in the handsome office, andlooked sourly at us as we entered. He was not alone, for a young mancould be seen in a side room that was lettered "Secretary's Office. "

"Ah, Mr. Knapp, " he said, bowing deferentially to the millionaire, andrubbing his fat red hands. "Can I do anything for you to-day?"

"I reckon so, Storey. Let me introduce you to Mr. Wilton, one of ourcoming directors. "

I had an inward start at this information, and Mr. Storey regarded meunfavorably. We professed ourselves charmed to see each other. 

"I suppose it was an oversight that you didn't send me a notice of thedirectors' meeting, " said Doddridge Knapp. 

Mr. Storey turned very red, and the King of the Street said in anundertone: "Just lock that door, Wilton. "

"It must have been sent by mail, " stammered Storey. "Hi, there! youngman, what are you doing?" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet as I turnedthe key in the lock. "Open that door again!"

"No you don't, Storey, " came the fierce growl from the throat of theWolf. "Your game is up. "

"The devil it is!" cried Storey, making a dash past Doddridge Knapp andcoming with a rush straight for me. 

"Stop him!" roared my employer. 

I sprang forward and grappled Mr. Storey, but I found him rather alarge contract, for I had to favor my left arm. Then he suddenly turnedlimp and rolled to the floor, his head thumping noisily on a corner ofthe desk. 

Doddridge Knapp coolly laid a hard rubber ruler down on the desk, and Irecognized the source of Mr. Storey's discomfiture. 

"I reckon he's safe for a bit, " he growled. "Hullo, what's this?"

I noted a very pale young man in the doorway of the secretary's office, apparently doubtful whether he should attempt to raise an alarm orhide. 

"You go back in your room and mind your own business, Dodson, " said theKing of the Street. "Go!" he growled fiercely, as the young man stillhesitated. "You know I can make or break you. "

The young man disappeared, and I closed and locked the door on him. 

"There they come, " said I, as steps sounded in the hall. 

"Stand by the door and keep them out, " whispered my employer. "I'll seethat Storey doesn't get up. Keep still now. Every minute we gain isworth ten thousand dollars. "

I took station by the door as the knob was tried. More steps wereheard, and the knob was tried again. Then the door was shaken andpicturesque comments were made on the dilatory president. 

Doddridge Knapp looked grim, but serene, as he sat on the desk with hisfoot on the prostrate Storey. I breathed softly, and listened to therising complaints from without. 

There were thumps and kicks on the door, and at last a voice roared:

"What are you waiting for? Break it in. "

A crash followed, and the ground-glass upper section of the door fellin fragments. 

"I beg your pardon, gentlemen, " I said, as a man put his hand throughthe opening. "This revolver is loaded, and the first man to comethrough there will get a little cold lead in him. "

There was a pause and then a storm of oaths. 

"Get in there!" cried Decker's voice from the rear. "What are youafraid of?"

"He's got a gun. "

"Well, get in, three or four of you at once. He can't shoot you all. "

This spirited advice did not seem to find favor with the front-rankmen, and the enemy retired for consultation. At last a messenger cameforward. 

"What do you want?" he asked. 

"I want you to keep out. "

"Who is he?" asked Decker's voice. 

"There's another one there, " cried another voice. "Why, it's DoddridgeKnapp!"

Decker made use of some language not intended for publication, andthere was whispering for a few minutes, followed by silence. 

I looked at Doddridge Knapp, sitting grim and unmoved, counting theminutes till the injunction should come. Suddenly a man bounded throughthe broken upper section of the door, tossed by his companions, and Ifound myself in a grapple before I could raise my revolver. 

We went down on the floor together, and I had a confused notion thatthe door swung open and four or five others rushed into the room. 

I squirmed free from my opponent, and sprang to my feet in time to seethe whole pack around Doddridge Knapp. 

The King of the Street sat calm and forceful with a revolver in hishand, and all had halted, fearing to go farther. 

"Don't come too close, gentlemen, " growled the Wolf. 

Then I saw one of the men raise a six-shooter to aim at the defiantfigure that faced them. I gave a spring and with one blow laid the manon the floor. There was a flash of fire as he fell, and a deafeningnoise was in my ears. Men all about me were striking at me. I scarcelyfelt their blows as I warded them off and returned them, for I washalf-mad with the desperate sense of conflict against odds. But at lastI felt myself seized in an iron grip, and in a moment was seated besideDoddridge Knapp on the desk. 

"The time is up, " he said. "There's the sheriff and Caswell with thewrit. "

"I congratulate you, " I answered, my head still swimming, noting thatthe enemy had drawn back at the coming of reinforcements. 

"Good heavens, man, you're hurt!" he cried, pointing to my left sleevewhere a blood stain was spreading. The wound I had received in thenight conflict at Livermore had reopened in the struggle. 

"It's nothing, " said I. "Just a scratch. "

"Here! get a doctor!" cried the King of the Street. "Gentlemen, thedirectors' meeting is postponed, by order of court. "

CHAPTER XXVI

A VISION OF THE NIGHT

"You are a very imprudent person, " said Luella, smiling, yet with amost charming trace of anxiety under the smile. 

"What have I been doing now?" I asked. 

"That is what you are to tell me. Papa told us a little about yoursaving his life and his plans this morning, but he was so very shortabout it. Let me know the whole story from your own mouth. Was this thearm that was hurt?"

I started to give a brief description of my morning's adventure, butthere was something in my listener's face that called forth detailafter detail, and her eyes kindled as I told the tale of the battlethat won Omega in the stock Board, and the fight that rescued thefruits of victory in the office of the company. 

"There is something fine in it, after all, " she said when I wasthrough. "There is something left of the spirit of the old adventurersand the knights. Oh, I wish I were a man! No, I don't either. I'drather be the daughter of a man--a real man--and I know I am that. "

I thought of the Doddridge Knapp that she did not know, and a pang ofpity and sorrow wrenched my heart. 

She saw the look, and misinterpreted it. 

"You do not think, do you, " she said softly, "that I don't appreciateyour part in it? Indeed I do. " I took her hand, and she let it lie amoment before she drew it away. 

"I think I am more than repaid, " I said. 

"Oh, yes, " said she, changing her tone to one of complete indifference. "Papa said he had made you a director. "

"Yes, " I said, taking my cue from her manner. "I have the happiness toshare the honor with three other dummies. Your father makes the fifth. "

"How absurd!" laughed Luella. "Do you want to provoke me?"

"Oh, of course, I mean that your father does the thinking, and--"

"And you punch the head he points out to you, I suppose, " said Luellasarcastically. 

"Exactly, " I said. "And--"

"Don't mind me, Henry, " interrupted the voice of Mrs. Knapp. 

"But I must, " said I, giving her greeting. "What service do yourequire?"

"Tell me what you have been doing. "

"I have just been telling Miss Luella. "

"And what, may I ask?"

"I was explaining this morning's troubles. "

"Oh, I heard a little of them from Mr. Knapp. Have you had any more ofyour adventures at Borton's and other dreadful places?"

I glanced at Luella. She was leaning forward, her chin resting on herhand, and her eyes were fixed on me with close attention. "I shouldlike to hear of them, too, " she said. 

I considered a moment, and then, as I could see no reason for keepingsilent, I gave a somewhat abridged account of my Livermore trip, omitting reference to the strange vagaries of the Doddridge Knapp whotraveled by night. 

I had reason to be flattered by the attention of my audience. Bothwomen leaned forward with wide-open eyes, and followed every word witheager interest. 

"That was a dreadful danger you escaped, " said Mrs. Knapp with ashudder. "I am thankful, indeed, to see you with us with no greaterhurt. "

Luella said nothing, but the look she gave me set my heart dancing in away that all Mrs. Knapp's praise could not. 

"I do hope this dreadful business will end soon, " said Mrs. Knapp. "Doyou think this might be the last of it?"

"No, " said I, remembering the note I had received from the Unknown onmy return, "there's much more to be done. "

"I hope you are ready for it, " said Mrs. Knapp, with a troubled lookupon her face. 

"As ready as I ever shall be, I suppose, " I replied. "If the guardianangel who has pulled me through this far will hold on to his job, I'lldo my part. "

Mrs. Knapp raised a melancholy smile, but it disappeared at once, andshe seemed to muse in silence, with no very pleasant thought on hermind. Twice or thrice I thought she wished to speak to me, but if soshe changed her mind. 

I ventured a few observations that were intended to be jocose, but sheanswered in the monosyllables of preoccupation, and I turned to Luella. 

She gave back flashes of brightness, but I saw on her face the shadowof her mother's melancholy, and I rose at an early hour to take myleave. 

"I wonder at you, " said Luella softly, as we stood alone for a moment. 

"You have little cause. "

"What you have done is much. You have conquered difficulties. "

I looked in her calm eyes, and my soul came to the surface. 

"I wish you might be proud of me, " I said. 

"I--I am proud of such a friend--except--" She hesitated. 

"Always an 'except, '" I said half-bitterly. 

"But you have promised to tell me--"

"Some day. As soon as I may. " Under her magnetic influence, I shouldhave told her then had she urged me. And not until I was once moreoutside the house did I recall how impossible it was that I could evertell her. 

"What shall I do? What shall I do?" was the refrain that ran through mybrain insistently, as the battle between love and duty rose andswelled. And I was sorely tempted to tell the Unknown to look elsewherefor assistance, and to bury the memory of my dead friend and the feudwith Doddridge Knapp in a common grave. 

"Here's some one to see you, sir, " said Owens, as I reached the walk, and joined the guards I had left to wait for me. The rain had ceased, but the wind, which had fallen during the day, was freshening once morefrom the south. 

"Yes, sor, you're wanted at Mother Borton's in a hurry, " said anothervoice, and a man stepped forward. "There's the divil to pay!"

I recognized the one-eyed man who had done me the service that enabledme to escape from Livermore. 

"Ah, Broderick, what's the matter?"

"I didn't get no orders, sor, so I don't know, but there was thedivil's own shindy in the height of progression when I left. And MotherBorton says I was to come hot-foot for you, and tell you to come withyour men if ye valued your sowl. "

"Is she in danger?"

"I reckon the thought was heavy on her mind, for her face was whitewith the terror of it. "

We hastened forward, but at the next corner a passing hack stood readyfor passengers, and we rolled down the street, the horses' hoofsoutstripped by my anxiety and apprehensions. 

One of the men was sent to bring out such of my force as had returned, and I, with the two others, hurried on to Borton's. 

There was none of the sounds of riot I had expected to hear as we drewup before it. The lantern blinked outside with its invitation tomanifold cheer within. Lights streamed through the window and the half-opened door, and quiet and order reigned. 

As I stepped to the walk, I found the explanation of the change in theperson of a policeman, who stood at the door. 

"Holy St. Peter! the cops is on!" whispered Broderick. 

I failed to share his trepidation in the presence of the representativeof law and order, and stepped up to the policeman. 

"Has there been trouble here, officer?" I asked. 

"Oh, is it you, sor?" said Corson's hearty voice. "I was wonderingabout ye. Well, there has been a bit of a row here, and there's a powerof broken heads to be mended. There's wan man cut to pieces, and goodriddance, for it's Black Dick. I'm thinking it's the morgue they'll betaking him to, though it was for the receiving hospital they startedwith him. It was a dandy row, and it was siventeen arrists we made. "

"Where is Mother Borton?"

"The ould she-divil's done for this time, I'm a-thinking. Whist, Iforgot she was a friend of yours, sor. "

"Where is she--at the receiving hospital? What is the matter with her?"

"Aisy, aisy, sor. It may be nothing. She's up stairs. A bit of a cut, they say. Here, Shaughnessy, look out for this door! I'll take ye up, sor. "

We mounted the creaking stairs in the light of the smoky lamp thatstood on the bracket, and Corson opened a door for me. 

A flickering candle played fantastic tricks with the furniture, sentshadows dancing over the dingy walls, and gave a weird touch to the twofigures that bent over the bed in the corner. The figures straightenedup at our entrance, and I knew them for the doctor and his assistant. 

"A friend of the lady, sor, " whispered Corson. 

The doctor looked at me in some surprise, but merely bowed. 

"Is she badly hurt?" I asked. 

"I've seen worse, " he answered in a low voice, "but--" and he completedthe sentence by shrugging his shoulders, as though he had small hopesfor his patient. 

Mother Borton turned her head on the pillow, and her gaunt face lightedup at the sight of me. Her eyes shone with a strange light of theirown, like the eyes of a night-bird, and there was a fierce eagerness inher look. 

"Eh, dearie, I knew you would come, " she cried. 

The doctor pushed his way to the bedside. 

"I must insist that the patient be quiet, " he said with authority. 

"Be quiet?" cried Mother Borton. "Is it for the likes of you that I'dbe quiet? You white-washed tombstone raiser, you body-snatcher, do youthink you're the man to tell me to hold my tongue when I want to talkto a gentleman?"

"Hush!" I said soothingly. "He means right by you. "

"You must lie quiet, or I'll not be responsible for the consequences, "said the doctor firmly. 

At these well-meant words Mother Borton raised herself on her elbow, and directed a stream of profanity in the direction of the doctor thatsent chills chasing each other down my spine, and seemed for a minuteto dim the candle that gave its flickering gloom to the room. 

"I'll talk as I please, " cried Mother Borton. "It's my last wish, andI'll have it. You tell me I'll live an hour or two longer if I'm quiet, but I'll die as I've lived, a-doin' as I please, and have my say aslong as I've got breath to talk. Go out, now--all of you but this man. Go!"

Mother Borton had raised herself upon one elbow; her face, flushed andframed in her gray and tangled hair, was working with anger; and hereyes were almost lurid as she sent fierce glances at one after anotherof the men about her. She pointed a skinny finger at the door, and eachman as she cast her look upon him went out without a word. 

"Shut the door, honey, " she said quietly, lying down once more with asatisfied smile. "That's it. Now me and you can talk cozy-like. "

"You'd better not talk. Perhaps you will feel more like it to-morrow. "

"There won't be any to-morrow for me, " growled Mother Borton. "I'veseen enough of 'em carved to know when I've got the dose myself. Cursethat knife!" and she groaned at a twinge of pain. 

"Who did it?"

"Black Dick--curse his soul. And he's roasting in hell for it thisminute, " cried Mother Borton savagely. 

"Hush!" I said. "You mustn't excite yourself. Can't I get you aminister or a priest?"

Mother Borton spat out another string of oaths. 

"Priest or minister! Not for me! Not one has passed my door in all thetime I've lived, and he'll not do it to-night. What could he tell methat I don't know already? I've been on the road to hell for fiftyyears, and do you think the devil will let go his grip for a man thatdon't know me? No, dearie; your face is better for me than priest orminister, and I want you to close my eyes and see that I'm burieddecent. Maybe you'll remember Mother Borton for something more than avile old woman when she's gone. "

"That I shall, " I exclaimed, touched by her tone, and taking the handthat she reached out to mine. "I'll do anything you want, but don'ttalk of dying. There's many a year left in you yet. "

"There's maybe an hour left in me. But we must hurry. Tell me aboutyour trouble--at Livermore, was it?"

I gave her a brief account of the expedition and its outcome. MotherBorton listened eagerly, giving an occasional grunt of approval. 

"Well, honey; I was some good to ye, after all, " was her comment. 

"Indeed, yes. "

"And you had a closer shave for your life than you think, " shecontinued. "Tom Terrill swore he'd kill ye, and it's one of themiracles, sure, that he didn't. "

"Well, Mother Borton, Tom Terrill's laid up in Livermore with a brokenhead, and I'm safe here with you, ready to serve you in any way that aman may. "

"Safe--safe?" mused Mother Borton, an absent look coming over herskinny features, as though her mind wandered. Then she turned to meimpressively. "You'll never be safe till you change your work and yourname. You've shut your ears to my words while I'm alive, but maybeyou'll think of 'em when I'm in my coffin. I tell you now, my boy, there's murder and death before you. Do you hear? Murder and death. "

She sank back on her pillow and gazed at me with a wearied light in hereyes and a sibyl look on her face. 

"I think I understand, " I said gently. "I have faced them and I oughtto know them. "

"Then you'll--you'll quit your job--you'll be yourself?"

"I can not. I must go on. "

"And why?"

"My friend--his work--his murderer. "

"Have you got the man who murdered Henry Wilton?"

"No. "

"Have you got a man who will give a word against--against--you knowwho?"

"I have not a scrap of evidence against any one but the testimony of myown eyes, " I was compelled to confess. 

"And you can't use it--you dare not use it. Now I'll tell you, dearie, I know the man as killed Henry Wilton. "

"Who was it?" I cried, startled into eagerness. 

"It was Black Dick--the cursed scoundrel that's done for me. Oh!" shegroaned in pain. 

"Maybe Black Dick struck the blow, but I know the man that stood behindhim, and paid him, and protected him, and I'll see him on the gallowsbefore I die. "

"Hush, " cried Mother Borton trembling. "If he should hear you! Yourthroat will be cut yet, dearie, and I'm to blame. Drop it, dearie, dropit. The boy is nothing to you. Leave him go. Take your own name and getaway. This is no place for you. When I'm gone there will be no one towarn ye. You'll be killed. You'll be killed. "

Then she moaned, but whether from pain of body or mind I could notguess. 

"Never you fear. I'll take care of myself, " I said cheerily. 

She looked at me mournfully. "I am killed for ye, dearie. "

I started, shocked at this news. 

"There, " she continued slowly, "I didn't mean to let you know. But theythought I had told ye. "

"Then I have two reasons instead of one for holding to my task, " I saidsolemnly. "I have two friends to avenge. "

"You'll make the third yourself, " groaned Mother Borton, "unless theyput a knife into Barkhouse, first, and then you'll be the fourthbelike. "

"Barkhouse--do you know where he is?"

"He's in the Den--on Davis Street, you know. I was near forgetting totell ye. Send your men to get him to-night, for he's hurt and like todie. They may have to fight. No, --don't leave me now. "

"I wasn't going to leave you. "

Mother Borton put her hand to her throat as though she choked, and wassilent for a moment. Then she continued:

"I'll be to blame if I don't tell you--I _must_ tell you. Are youlistening?"

Her voice came thick and strange, and her eyes wandered anxiouslyabout, searching the heavy shadows with a look of growing fear. 

The candle burned down till it guttered and flickered in its pool ofmelted tallow, and the shadows it threw upon wall and ceiling seemedinstinct with an impish life of their own, as though they were darkspirits from the pit come to mock the final hours of the life that wasebbing away before me. 

"I am listening, " I replied. 

"You must know--you must--know, --I must tell you. The boy--the womanis--"

On a sudden Mother Borton sat bolt upright in bed, and a shriek, solong, so shrill, so freighted with terror, came from her lips that Ishrank from her and trembled, faint with the horror of the place. 

"They come--there, they come!" she cried, and throwing up her arms shefell back on the bed. 

The candle shot up into flame, sputtered an instant, and was gone. AndI was alone with the darkness and the dead. 

CHAPTER XXVII

A LINK IN THE CHAIN

I sprang to my feet. The darkness was instinct with nameless terrors. The air was filled with nameless shapes. A spiritual horror surroundedme, and I felt that I must reach the light or cry out. But before I hadcovered the distance to the door, it was flung open and Corson stood onthe threshold; and at the sight of him my courage returned and myshaken nerves grew firm. At the darkness he wavered and cried:

"What's the matter here?"

"She is dead. "

"Rest her sowl! It's a fearsome dark hole to be in, sor. "

I shuddered as I stood beside him, and brought the lamp from thebracket in the hall. 

Mother Borton lay back staring affrightedly at the mystic beings whohad come for her, but settled into peace as I closed her eyes andcomposed her limbs. 

"She was a rare old bird, " said Corson when I had done, "but there wassome good in her, after all. "

"She has been a good friend to me, " I said, and we called a servantfrom below and left the gruesome room to his guardianship. 

"And now, there's another little job to be done. There's one of my mena prisoner down on Davis Street. I must get him out. "

"I'm with you, sor, " said Corson heartily. "I'm hopin' there's someheads to be cracked. "

I had not counted on the policeman's aid, but I was thankful to acceptthe honest offer. In the restaurant I found five of my men, and withthis force I thought that I might safely attempt an assault on the Den. 

The Den was a low, two-story building of brick, with a warehouse below, and the quarters of the enemy, approached by a narrow stairway, above. 

"Step quietly, " I cautioned my men, as we neared the dark andforbidding entrance. "Keep close to the shadow of the buildings. Ourbest chance is in a surprise. "

There was no guard at the door that stood open to the street, and wehalted a moment before it to make sure of our plans. 

"It's a bad hole, " whispered Corson. 

"A fine place for an ambush, " I returned dubiously. 

"Well, there's no help for it, " said the policeman. "Come on!" Anddrawing his club and revolver he stole noiselessly up the stairs. 

I felt my way up step by step, one hand against the wall and my shoesscraping cautiously for a resting-place, while my men followed insingle file with the same silent care. 

But in spite of this precaution, we were not two-thirds the way up theflight before a voice shot out of the darkness. 

"Who's there?"

We stopped and held our breath. There was a minute of silence, but itwas broken by the creak of a board as one of the men shifted hisweight. 

"There's some one here!" cried the voice above us. "Halt, or I'llshoot! Peterson! Conn! Come quick!"

There was no more need for silence, and Corson and I reached thelanding just as a door opened that let the light stream from within. Two men had sprung to the doorway, and another could be seen faintlyoutlined in the dark hall. 

"Holy Mother! it's the cops!" came in an awe-stricken voice at thesight of Corson's star. 

"Right, my hearty!" cried Corson, making a rush for the man, who darteddown the hall in an effort to escape. The two men jumped back into theroom and tried to close the door, but I was upon them before they couldswing it shut. Four of my men had followed me close, and with a fewblows given and taken, the two were prisoners. 

"Tie them fast, " I ordered, and hastened to see how Corson fared. 

I met the worthy policeman in the hall, blown but exultant. Owens wasfollowing him, and between them they half-dragged, half-carried the manwho had given the alarm. 

"He made a fight for it, " puffed Corson, "but I got in wan good lick athim and he wilted. You'll surrinder next time when I tell ye, won't ye, me buck?"

"Aren't there any more about?" I asked. "There were more than threeleft in the gang. "

"If there had been more of us, you'd never have got in, " growled one ofthe prisoners. 

"Where's Barkhouse?" I asked. 

"Find him!" was the defiant reply. 

We began the search, opening one room after another. Some weresleeping-rooms, some the meeting-rooms, while the one we had firstentered appeared to be the guard-room. 

"Hello! What's this?" exclaimed Corson, tapping an iron door, such ascloses a warehouse against fire. 

"It's locked, sure enough, " said Owens, after trial. 

"It must be the place we are looking for, " I said. "Search those menfor keys. "

The search was without result. 

"It's a sledge we must get, " said Owens, starting to look about forone. 

"Hould on, " said Corson, "I was near forgetting. I've got a master-keythat fits most of these locks. It's handy for closing up a warehousewhen some clerk with his wits a-wandering forgits his job. So likeenough it's good at unlocking. "

It needed a little coaxing, but the bolt at last slid back and theheavy doors swung open. The room was furnished with a large table, abig desk, and a dozen chairs, which sprang out of the darkness as Istruck a match and lit the gas. It was evidently the council-room ofthe enemy. 

"This is illigant, " said the policeman, looking around with approval;"but your man isn't here, I'd say. "

"Well, it looks as though there might be something here of interest, " Ireplied, seizing eagerly upon the papers that lay scattered about uponthe desk. "Look in the other rooms while I run through these. "

A rude diagram on the topmost paper caught my eye. It represented aroad branching thrice. On the third branch was a cross, and then atintervals four crosses, as if to mark some features of the landscape. Underneath was written:

"From B--follow 1 1-2 m. Take third road--3 or 5. "

The paper bore date of that day, and I guessed that it was meant toshow the way to the supposed hiding-place of the boy. 

Then, as I looked again, the words and lines touched a cord of memory. Something I had seen or known before was vaguely suggested. I groped inthe obscurity for a moment, vainly reaching for the phantom that dancedjust beyond the grasp of my mental fingers. 

There was no time to lose in speculating, and I turned to the work thatpressed before us. But as I thrust the papers into my pocket to resumethe search for Barkhouse, the elusive memory flashed on me. The diagramof the enemy recalled the single slip of paper I had found in thepocket of Henry Wilton's coat on the fatal night of my arrival. I hadkept it always with me, for it was the sole memorandum left by him ofthe business that had brought him to his death. I brought it out, verybadly creased and rumpled from much carrying, but still quite aslegible as on the night I had first seen it. 

Placed side by side with the map I had before me, the resemblance wasless close than I had thought. Yet all the main features were the same. There was the road branching thrice; a cross in both marked thejunction of the third road as though it gave sign of a building or somenatural landmark; and the other features were indicated in the sameorder. No--there was a difference in this point; there were fivecrosses on the third road in the enemy's diagram, while there were butfour in mine. 

In the matter of description the enemy had the advantage, slight as itwas. 

"Third road--cockeyed barn--iron cow, " and the confused jumble ofdrunken letters and figures that Henry had written--I could makenothing of these. 

"From B--follow 1 1-2 m. Take third road--3 or 5"--this was at leasthalf-intelligible. 

Then it came on me like a blow, --was this the mysterious "key" that theUnknown had demanded of me in her letter of this morning? I turned sickat heart at the thought that my ignorance and inattention had put theboy in jeopardy. The enemy had perhaps a clue to the hiding-place thatthe Unknown did not possess. The desertion of these headquartersswelled my fears. Though Terrill, disabled by wounds, was groaning withpain and rage at Livermore, and the night's arrests at Borton's hadreduced the numbers of the band, Darby Meeker was still on the activelist. And Doddridge Knapp? He was free now to follow his desperate plotto its end without risking his schemes of fortune. The absence ofMeeker, the date of to-day upon the map, suggesting that it had butjust come into the hands of the enemy, and the lack of a garrison inthe Den, raised the apprehension that fresh mischief was afoot. 

I was roused from my reverie of fears by confused shouts from down thehall, and sprang hastily to the door, with the thought that the forcesof the enemy were upon us. 

"Here he is! they've found him, " cried an excited voice. 

"Yes, sir! here he comes!"

It was truly the stalwart guard; but two days had made a sad change inhim. With head bound in a bloody rag, and face of a waxy yellow hue, hestaggered limply out of one of the rear rooms between Corson and Owens. 

"Brace up, me boy! You're worth ten dead men, " said the policemanencouragingly. "That's right! you'll be yourself in a jiffy. "

Barkhouse was soon propped up on the lounge in the guard-room, and witha few sips of whisky and a fresh bandage began to look like a morehopeful case. 

"'Twas a nasty cut, " said one of the men sympathetically. 

"How did you get it?" I asked. 

"I don't rightly know, " said Barkhouse faintly. "'Twas the night youwent to Mother Borton's last week. After I leaves you, I walks down apiece towards the bay, and as I gets about to Drumm Street, I guess, afellow comes along as I takes to be a sailor half-loaded. 'Hello, mate, ' he says, a-trying to steady himself, 'what time did you say itwas?' 'I didn't say, ' says I, for I was too fly to take out my watch, even if it is a nickel-plater, for how could he tell what it was in thedark? and it's good for a dozen drinks at any water-front saloon. 'Well, what do you make it?' he says; and as I was trying to reckonwhether it was nearer twelve or one o'clock, he lurches up agin' me andgrabs my arms as if to steady himself. Then three or four fellows jumpsfrom behind a lot of packing-boxes there, and grabs me. I makes a fightfor it, and gives one yell, and the next I knows I was in a dark roomhere with the sorest head in San Francisco. An' I reckon I've been hereabout six days, and another would have finished me. "

Barkhouse's "six days" estimate provoked a smile. 

"If you could get paid on your time reckoning, " remarked Owens in ahumorous tone, "you'd be well off, Bob. 'Twas night before last you gottook in. "

Barkhouse looked incredulous, but I nodded my support of Owens'remarkable statement. 

"However, you'll be paid on your own reckoning, and better, too, " Isaid; and he was thereby consoled. 

"Now, we must get out of here, " I continued. "Take turns by twos inhelping Barkhouse. We had better not risk staying here. "

"Right, " said Corson, "and now we'll just take these three beautiesalong to the station. "

"On what charge?" growled the man addressed as Conn. 

"Disturbing the peace--you've disturbed ours for sure--resisting anofficer, vulgar language, keeping a disorderly house, carrying a pistolwithout a permit, and anything else I can think up between here and thestation-house. If that doesn't satisfy ye, I'll put ye down for assaultand robbery on Barkhouse's story, and ye may look out for a charge ofmurder before ye git out. "

The men swore at this cheerful prospect, but as their hands were boundbehind them, and Corson walked with his club in one hand and his pistolin the other, they took up the march at command, and the rest of usslowly followed. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE CHASE IN THE STORM

When we reached the entrance to our quarters on Montgomery Street therain had once more begun to fall, gently now, but the gusts of dampwind from the south promised more and worse to follow. 

"Hello!" cried the first man, starting back. "What's this?"

The line stopped, and I moved forward. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"A message for you, Mr. Wilton, " said a voice suddenly from the recessof the doorway. 

"Give it to me, " I said. 

A slip of paper was thrust into my hand, and I passed up the stairs. 

"I'll wait for you, " said the messenger, and at the first gas-jet thatburned at the head of the stairs I stopped to read the address. 

It was in the hand of the Unknown, and my fatigue and indifference weregone in a moment. I trembled as I tore open the envelope, and read:

"Follow the bearer of this note at 12:30. Come alone and armed. It isimportant. "

There was no signature. 

If this meant anything it meant that I was to meet the Unknown, andperhaps to search the heart of the mystery. I had been heavy withfatigue and drowsy with want of sleep, but at this thought the energiesof life were once more fresh within me. 

With my new-found knowledge it might be more important than even theUnknown was aware, that we should meet. To me, the map, the absence ofDarby Meeker and his men, the mysterious hints of murder and death thathad come from the lips of Mother Borton, were but vaguely suggestive. But to the Unknown, with her full knowledge of the objects sought bythe enemy and the motives that animated their ceaseless pursuit, thedarkness might be luminous, the obscurity clear. 

The men had waited a minute for me as I read the note. 

"Go to your rooms and get some rest, " I said. "I am called away. Trentwill be in charge, and I will send word to him if I need any of you. "

They looked at me in blank protest. 

"You're not going alone, sir?" cried Owens in a tone of alarm. 

"Oh, no. But I shall not need a guard. " I hoped heartily that I didnot. 

The men shook their heads doubtfully, and I continued:

"Corson will be down from the Central Station in fifteen or twentyminutes. Just tell him that I've been sent for, and to come to-morrowif he can make it in his way. "

And bidding them good night I ran hastily down the stairs before any ofthe men could frame his protest into words. 

"Are you ready, sir?" asked the messenger. 

"It is close on half-past twelve, " I answered. "Where is she?"

"It's not far, " said my guide evasively. 

I understood the danger of speech, and did not press for an answer. 

We plunged down Montgomery Street in the teeth of the wind that dashedthe spray in our faces at one moment, lulled an instant the better todeceive the unwary, and then leaped at us from behind corners with theimpetuous rush of some great animal that turned to vapor as it reachedus. The street was dark except for the newspaper offices, which glowedbright with lights on both sides of the way, busy with the only signsof life that the storm and the midnight hour had left. 

With the lighted buildings behind us we turned down California Street. Half-way down the block, in front of the Merchants' Exchange, stood ahack. At the sight my heart beat fast and my breath came quick. Here, perhaps, was the person about whom centered so many of my hopes andfears, in whose service I had faced death, and whose words might serveto make plain the secret springs of the mystery. 

As we neared the hack my guide gave a short, suppressed whistle, andpassing before me, flung open the door to the vehicle and motioned meto enter. I glanced about with some lack of confidence oppressing myspirits. But I had gone too far to retreat, and stepped into the hack. Instead of following, the guide closed the door gently; I heard himmount the seat by the driver, and in a moment we were in motion. 

Was I alone? I had expected to find the Unknown, but the dark interiorgave no sign of a companion. Then the magnetic suggestion of thepresence of another came to my spirit, and a faint perfume put all mysenses on the alert. It was the scent that had come to me with theletters of the Unknown. A slight movement made me certain that some onesat in the farther corner of the carriage. 

Was it the Unknown or some agent? And if it proved to be the Unknown, was she the lady I had met in cold business greeting in the courtyardof the Palace Hotel? I waited impatiently for the first street-lamp tothrow a gleam of light into the carriage. But when it came I was littlethe wiser. I could see faintly the outlines of a figure shrouded inblack that leaned in the corner, motionless save for the swaying andpitching of the hack as it rolled swiftly down the street. 

The situation became a little embarrassing. Was it my place to speakfirst? I wondered. At last I could endure the silence no longer. 

"Quite an unpleasant evening, " I remarked politely. 

There was a rustle of movement, the sound of a short gasp, and a soft, mournful voice broke on my ear. 

"Mr. Dudley--can you forgive me?"

The astonishment I felt to hear my own name once more--the name thatseemed now to belong to a former state of existence--was swallowed upas the magnetic tones carried their revelation to my mind. 

I was stricken dumb for a moment at the discovery they had brought. Then I gasped:

"Mrs. Knapp!"

"Yes, Mrs. Knapp, " she said with a mournful laugh. "Did you neversuspect?"

I was lost in wonder and confusion, and even yet could not understand. 

"What brings you out in this storm?" I asked, completely mystified. "Ithought I was to meet another person. "

"Indeed?" said Mrs. Knapp with a spark of animation. "Well, I am theother person. "

I was paralyzed in mind and nerve for a moment with the astonishment ofthe disclosure. Even yet I could not believe. 

"You!" I exclaimed at last. "Are you the protector of the boy? Theemployer--" Then I stopped, the tangle in my mind beginning tostraighten out. 

"I am she, " said Mrs. Knapp gently. 

"Then, " I cried, "who is he? what is he? what is the whole dreadfulaffair about? and what--"

Mrs. Knapp interrupted me. 

"First tell me what has become of Henry Wilton?" she said with sorrowin her voice. 

The dreadful scene in the alley flashed before my mind. 

"He is dead. "

"Dead! And how?"

"Murdered. "

"I feared so--I was certain, or he would have let me know. You havemuch to tell me. But first, did he leave no papers in your hands?"

I brought out the slip that bore the blind diagram and the blinderdescription that accompanied it. Nothing could be made of it in thedarkness, so I described it as well as I could. 

"We are on the right track, " said Mrs. Knapp. "Oh, why didn't I havethat yesterday? But here--we are at the wharf. "

The hack had stopped, and a hand was fumbling at the door. 

The darkness, the dash of water, the wind whistling about the crazywooden buildings and through the rigging of ships, made the water-frontvocal with the shouting of the storm demons as we alighted. 

My guide was before us, and we followed him down the pier, strugglingagainst the gusts. 

"Do we cross the bay?" I asked, as Mrs. Knapp clung to my arm. "It'snot safe for you in a small boat. "

"There's a tug waiting for us, " Mrs. Knapp explained. 

A moment later we saw its lights, and the fire of its engine-room shota cheerful glow into the storm. The little vessel swung uneasily at itsberth as we made our way aboard, and with shouts of men and clang ofbells it was soon tossing on the dark waters of the bay. Out from theshelter of the wharves the wind buffeted us wildly, and the black waveswere threshed into phosphorescent foam against the sides of the tug, while their crests, self-luminous, stretched away in changing lines offaint, ghostly fire. 

The cabin of the tug was fitted with a shelf table, and over it swung alamp of brass that gave a dim light to the little room. Mrs. Knappseated herself here, as the boat pitched and tossed and trembled at thestrokes of the waves and quivered to the throbbing of the screw, spreadout the paper I had given her, and studied the diagram and the jumbleof letters with anxious attention. 

"It is the same, " she said at last; "in part, at least. "

"The same as what?" I asked. 

"As the one I got word of to-night, you know, " she replied. 

"No--I didn't know. "

"Of course not, " said Mrs. Knapp. "But you might have guessed that Igot my summons after you left, this evening. I should have spoken toyou then if I had known. I was near coming to an explanation, as itwas. "

"There are a good many things I haven't guessed, " I confessed. 

"But, " she continued, returning to the map, "this gives a differentplace. I was to go to the cross-road here, "--indicating the mark at thelast branch. 

"I'm glad to hear that, " said I, taking out the diagram I had found inthe citadel of the enemy. "This seems to point to a different place, too, and I really hope that the gentleman who drew this map is a goodway off from the truth. "

"Where did you get this?" exclaimed Mrs. Knapp. 

I described the circumstances in as few words as I could command. 

"They are ahead of us, " she said in alarm. 

"They have started first, I suppose, " was my suggestion. 

"And they have the right road. "

"Then our only hope is that they may not know the right place. "

"God grant it, " said Mrs. Knapp. 

She was silent for a few minutes, and I saw that her eyes were filledwith tears. 

I was moved by her signs of feeling. I thought they were for the boyand was about to ask what would happen to him in case he was found bythe enemy, when she said:

"Now tell me about Henry Wilton--how he died and when. "

Again the vision of my first dreadful night in San Francisco rosebefore me, the cries for help from my murdered friend rang in my ears, and the scene in the alley and the figure in the morgue burned beforemy eyes. 

I told the tale as it had happened, and as I told it I read in the facebefore me the varying emotions of alarm, horror and grief that werestirred by its incidents. 

But one thing I could not tell her. The wolf-face I had seen in thelantern flash in the alley I could not name nor describe to the wife ofDoddridge Knapp. Yet at the thought the dark mystery grew darker, yet, and I began to doubt what my eyes had seen, and my ears had heard. 

Mrs. Knapp bowed her head in deep, gloomy thought. 

"I feared it, yet he would not listen to my warnings, " she murmured. "He would work his own way. " Then she looked me suddenly straight inthe face. 

"And why did you take his place, his name? Why did you try to do hiswork when you had seen the dreadful end to which it had brought him?"

I confessed that it was half through the insistence of Detective Cooganthat I was Henry Wilton, half through the course of events that seemedto make it the easiest road to reach the vengeance that I had vowed tobring the murderer of my friend. 

"You are bent on avenging him?" asked Mrs. Knapp thoughtfully. 

"I have promised it. "

"You shall have the chance. Strange thought!" she said gloomily, "thatthe dead hand of Henry Wilton may reach out from beyond the grave andstrike at his slayer when he least expects it. "

I was more than ever mystified at these words. I had not expected herto take so philosophically to the idea of hanging Doddridge Knapp, andI thought it best to hold my tongue. 

"I have marveled at you, " said Mrs. Knapp after a pause. "I marvel atyou yet. You have carried off your part well. "

"Not well enough, it seems, to deceive you, " I said, a little bitterly. 

"You should not have expected to deceive me, " said Mrs. Knapp. "But youcan imagine the shock I had when I saw that it was not Henry Wilton whohad come among us that first night when I called you from Mr. Knapp'sroom. "

"You certainly succeeded in concealing any surprise you may have felt, "I said. "You are a better actor than I. "

Mrs. Knapp smiled. 

"It was more than surprise--it was consternation, " she said. "I hadbeen anxious at receiving no word from Henry. I suppose you got mynotes. And when I saw you I was torn with doubts, wondering whetheranything had happened to Henry, whether he had sent you in his stead asa practical joke, whether you knew much or little or nothing of ouraffairs--in short, I was overwhelmed. "

"I didn't suppose I was quite so poor an impostor, " I saidapologetically, with a qualm at the word. "Though I did get some hintof it, " I added, with a painful recollection of the candid statement ofopinion I had received from the daughter of the house. 

"Oh, you did very well, " said Mrs. Knapp kindly, "but no one could havebeen successful in that house. Luella was quite outraged over it, but Imanaged to quiet her. "

"I hope Miss Knapp has not retained the unfavorable impressions of--er--"I stammered in much confusion. 

Mrs. Knapp gave me a keen glance. 

"You know she has not, " she said. 

I felt the subconscious impression somehow that after all Mrs. Knappwould have been better pleased if Luella had kept nearer to her firstimpressions of me. 

"Well, " continued Mrs. Knapp, "when I saw you and guessed thatsomething had happened to Henry Wilton, and found that you knew littleof what was going on, I changed the plan of campaign. I did not knowthat you were one to be trusted, but I saw that you could be used tokeep the others on a false scent, for you deceived everybody but us. "

"There was one other, " I said. 

"Mother Borton?" inquired Mrs. Knapp. "Yes, I learned that she knewyou. But to every one else in the city you were Henry Wilton. I feared, though, you would make some mistake that would betray you and spoil myplans. But you have succeeded marvelously. "

Mrs. Knapp paused a moment and then continued slowly. "It was cruel ofme. I knew that it was sending you to face death. But I was alarmed, angry at the imposition, and felt that you had brought it on yourself. Can you forgive me?"

"I have nothing to forgive, " I said. 

"I would have spoken when I found you for what you are, " said Mrs. Knapp, "but I thought until the Livermore trip that you could serve mebest as you were doing. "

"It was blind work, " I said. 

"It was blind enough for you, not for me. I was deceived in one thing, however; I thought that you had no papers--nothing from Henry thatcould help or hurt. The first night you came to us I had Henry's roomthoroughly searched. "

"Oh, I was indebted to you for that attention, " I exclaimed. "I gaveour friends of the other house the credit. "

Mrs. Knapp smiled again. 

"I thought it necessary. It was the chance that you did not sleep therethat night that kept this paper out of my hands weeks ago. "

"I have always kept it with me, " I said. 

"I did not need it till Sunday, " continued Mrs. Knapp. "I have beenworried much at the situation of the boy, but I did not dare go nearhim. Henry and I decided that his hiding-place was not safe. We hadtalked of moving him a few days before you came. When I found thatHenry had disappeared I was anxious to make the change, but I could notventure to attempt it until the others were out of town, for I knew Iwas watched. Then I was assured from Mother Borton that they did notknow where the boy was hidden, and I let the matter rest. But a fewdays ago--on Saturday--she sent me word that she thought they had foundthe place. Then it came to me to send you to Livermore with the otherboy--oh, I hope no harm came to the little fellow, " she exclaimedanxiously. 

"He's safe at my rooms in charge of Wainwright, " I said. "He got backon the morning train, and can be had for the asking. "

"Oh, I'm so glad, " said Mrs. Knapp. "I was afraid something wouldhappen to him, but I had to take desperate chances. Well, you see myplan succeeded. They all followed you. But when I went to the hiding-place the boy was gone. Henry had moved him weeks ago, and had diedbefore he could tell me. Then I thought you might know more than youhad told me--that Henry Wilton might have got you to help him when hemade the change, and I wrote to you. "

"And the key, " I said, remembering the expression of the note, "Did youmean this diagram?"

"No, " said Mrs. Knapp. "I meant the key to our cipher code. I waslooking over Henry's letters for some hint of a hiding-place and couldnot find the key to the cipher. I thought you might have been givenone. I found mine this afternoon, though, and there was no need of it, so it didn't matter after all. "

The pitching and tossing of the boat had ceased for some minutes, andat this point the captain of the tug opened the cabin. 

"Excuse me, " he said apologetically, uncertain whether to address Mrs. Knapp or me, and including us both in the question, "but where did youwant to land?"

"At Broadway, " said Mrs. Knapp. 

"Then you're there, " said the captain. 

And, a minute later, with clang of bells and groan of engine we were atthe wharf and were helped ashore. 

On this side of the bay the wind had fallen, and there were signs of abreak in the clouds. The darkness of the hour was dimly broken by therays from the lines of street-lamps that stretched at intervals on bothsides of Broadway, making the gloom of the place and hour even moreoppressive. 

"Tell the captain to wait here for us with fires up, " said Mrs. Knapp. "The carriage should be somewhere around here, " she continued, peeringanxiously about as we reached the foot of the wharf. 

The low buildings by the railroad track were but piles of blackness, and about them I could see nothing. 

"This way, " said a familiar voice, and a man stepped from the shadow. 

"Dicky Nahl!" I exclaimed. 

"Mr. Wilton!" mimicked Dicky. "But it's just as well not to speak soloud. Here you are. I put the hack's lights out just to escapeunpleasant remark. We had better be moving, for it's a stiffish driveof six or seven miles. If you'll get in, I'll keep the seat with thedriver and tell him the way to go. "

Mrs. Knapp entered the carriage, and called to me to follow her. 

I remembered Mother Borton's warnings and my doubts of Dicky Nahl. 

"You're certain you know where you are going?" I asked him in anundertone. 

"No, I'm not, " said Dicky frankly. "I've found a man who says he knows. We are to meet him. We'll get there between three and four o'clock. Hewon't say another word to anybody but her or you. I guess he knows whathe is about. "

"Well, keep your eyes open. Meeker's gang is ahead of us. Is the driverreliable?"

"Right as a judge, " said Dicky cheerfully, "Now, if you'll get in withmadam we won't be wasting time here. "

I stepped into the carriage. Dicky Nahl closed the door softly andclimbed on the seat by the driver, and in a moment we were rolling upBroadway in the gloomy stillness of the early morning hour. 

CHAPTER XXIX

THE HEART OF THE MYSTERY

In the tumult of conflicting thoughts that assailed me as we entered onthe last stage of our journey, the idea of the perils that might lieahead fixed my attention for the moment, and I began to feel alarm forthe safety of my companion. 

"Mrs. Knapp, " I said; "there is no need for you to take this journey. You had better stop in Oakland for the rest of the night. "

"I must go, " she replied. 

"There is danger, " I argued. "You should not expose yourself to thechances of a brush with the enemy. It is a wet, cold ride, and theremay be bullets flying at the end of it. "

Mrs. Knapp gave a shudder, but she spoke firmly. 

"I could not rest--I could not stay away. It may be important that Ishould be there--it will be important if we find the boy. You do notknow him. Mr. Nahl does not know him. "

"None of my men seems to know him, " I interrupted; "that is, if one mayjudge by the way they were all taken in on the boy you sent toLivermore. "

"I think none of them ever saw his face, though some of them were withHenry Wilton when he first took the boy, and afterward. "

"The enemy seem to know him, " said I, remembering the scene atLivermore. 

"Terrill knows him. I think none of the other agents could be certainof his face, unless it is Mr. Meeker. But truly, I must go. "

"You are very brave, " I said, admiring her spirit, though I was loathto have the responsibility of her safety on my hands. 

"Without you I should not dare to go, I fear, " she made answer, "I needa strong arm to lean on, you see. "

"You may wish later that you had chosen a cavalier with two strong armsto his equipment. I fear I shouldn't do so well in a hand-to-handencounter as I should have done before I met Mr. Terrill last night. "

"Oh, I hope it will not come to that, " said Mrs. Knapp cheerfully, though there was a little tremor in her voice. 

"What if they have seized the boy?"

Mrs. Knapp was silent for a little, as if this contingency had notentered her plans. 

"We must follow him and save him, even if we have to raise the wholecounty to do it. " Her voice was firm and resolute. 

"What would happen to the boy if he were taken?" I found courage toask. 

"He would not live a month, " she replied. 

"Would he be murdered?"

"I don't know how the end would come. But I know he would die. "

I was in the shadow of the mystery. A hundred questions rose to mylips; but behind them all frowned the grim wolf-visage of DoddridgeKnapp, and I could not find the courage that could make me speak tothem. 

"Mrs. Knapp, " I said, "you have called me by my name. I had almostforgotten that I had ever borne it. I have lived more in the last monththan in the twenty-five years that I remember before it, and I havealmost come to think that the old name belongs to some one else. May Iask how you got hold of it?"

"It was simple enough. Henry had told me about you. I remembered thatyou were coming from the same town he had come from. I telegraphed toan agent in Boston. He went up to your place, made his inquiries andtelegraphed me. I suppose you will be pleased to know, " she continuedwith a droll affectation of malice in her voice, "that he mailed meyour full history as gathered from the town pump. It is at the housenow. "

"I trust it is nothing so very disreputable, " I said modestly, rakingmy memory hastily for any likely account of youthful escapades. 

"There was one rather serious bit, " said Mrs. Knapp gravely. "There wasan orchard--"

"There was more than one, " I admitted. 

Mrs. Knapp broke into a laugh. 

"I might have expected it. I knew the account was too good to be true. You'll have to get Luella's permission if you want to read the chargesin full, though. She has taken possession of the document. "

Luella knew! At first I was disappointed, then relieved. Something ofthe promised explanation was taken off my mind. 

"I tried to get something out of Mother Borton concerning you, "continued Mrs. Knapp. "I even went so far as to see her once. "

"I don't think you got any more out of her than she wanted to tell. "

"Indeed I did not. I was afraid Mr. Richmond had not gone about it theright way. You know Mr. Richmond acted as my agent with her?"

"No, I didn't know. She was as close-mouthed with me as with you, Ithink. "

"Well, I saw her. I wanted to get what information she had of you andof Henry. "

"She had a good deal of it, if she wanted to give it up. "

"So I supposed. But she was too clever for me. She spoke well of you, but not a word could I get from her about Henry. Yet she gave me theidea that she knew much. "

"I should think she might. I had told her the whole story. "

"She is a strange woman. "

"She was able to hold her tongue. "

"A strange gift, you mean to say, I suppose, " laughed Mrs. Knapp. 

"She was quite as successful in concealing from me the fact that shehad ever had word with you, though I suspected that she knew more thanshe told. "

"She is used to keeping secrets, I suppose, " replied Mrs. Knapp. "But Imust reward her well for what she has done. "

"She is beyond fear or reward. "

"Dead?" cried Mrs. Knapp in a shocked voice. "And how?"

"She died, I fear, because she befriended me. " And then I told her thestory of Mother Borton's end. 

"Poor creature!" said Mrs. Knapp sadly. "Yet perhaps it is better so. She has died in doing a good act. "

"She was a good friend to me, " I said. "I should have been in themorgue before her, I fear, but for her good will. "

Mrs. Knapp was silent for a minute. 

"I hope we are at the end of the tale of death, " she said at last. "Itis dreadful that insane greed and malice should spread their evil sofar about. Two lives have been sacrificed already, and perhaps it isonly the beginning. Yet I believe--I am sure--I have done right. "

"I am sure of that, " I said, and then was silent as her words called upthe image of the Wolf, dark, forbidding, glowing with the fires ofhate--the Wolf of the lantern-flash in the alley and the dens ofChinatown--and the mystery seemed deeper than ever. The carriage hadbeen rolling along swiftly. Despite the rain the streets were smoothand hard, and we made rapid progress. We had crossed a bridge, and withmany turns made a course toward the southeast. Now the ground becamesofter, and progress was slow. An interminable array of trees lined theway on both sides, and to my impatient imagination stretched for milesbefore us. Then the road became better, and the horses trotted brisklyforward again, their hoofs pattering dully on the softened ground. 

"All the better, " I thought. "It's as good as a muffler if any one islistening for us. "

"Here's the place, " came the voice of Dicky, giving directions to thedriver; and the carriage slackened pace and stopped. Looking out I sawthat we were at a division of the road where a two-story house facedboth of the branching ways. 

"You'd better come out, " said Dicky at the door, addressing his remarkto me. "He was to meet us here. "

"Be careful, " cautioned Mrs. Knapp. 

The night had turned colder, or I was chilled by the inaction of theride. The sky was clearing, and stars were to be seen. By the outlineof the hills we had made to the south. The horses steamed and breathedheavily in the keen air. 

I kept my hand on the revolver that lay in my overcoat pocket, andwalked with Dicky on to the porch. It was a common roadside saloon, andat this hour it appeared wholly deserted. Even the dog, without which Iknew no roadside saloon could exist, was as silent as its owners. 

"Here's a go!" said Dicky. "He was to meet us, sure. What time have yougot?"

I struck a match in a corner and looked at my watch by its flare. 

"Five minutes to three. "

"Whew!" he whispered, "we're regularly done. I thought he had a bad eyewhen I was bargaining with him. "

I wondered if Dicky had a hand in the trick, if trick it should proveto be. 

"He may be up stairs, " I suggested. 

Dicky groaned. "It's like advertising with a band wagon to rout 'em outat this time of the night, " he whispered. 

"The enemy have been along here ahead of us, " I said. "They may havepicked him up. "

"That's like enough, " said Dicky ruefully. "But if they've got him, wemight as well take the back tracks for town and hunt up a sheriff ortwo, or send for the boys to come over. "

"It's too late to do that, " said I decidedly. "We must go on at once. "

"Well, " said Dicky dubiously, "I think I know where the fellow wouldhave taken us. I trailed him this afternoon, and I'll lay two to onethat I can pick out the right road. "

"Is this the third road from Brooklyn?" I asked pointing to the trackthat led to the left. 

"I reckon so, " said Dicky. "I haven't kept count, but I recollect onlytwo before it. "

"All right. Up with you then!"

Dicky obediently mounted to the seat beside the driver. 

"I shall ride outside, " I said to Mrs. Knapp. "I may be needed. "

"I suppose you are right, " she replied with somewhat of protest in hervoice, and I closed the door, and climbed up. It was close quarters forthree, but at the word the horses, refreshed by the brief rest, rolledthe carriage up the road that led to the hills. 

Half a mile farther we passed a house, and within a quarter of a mileanother. 

"We are on the right road, " was my thought as I compared these in mymind with the crosses on the diagram. 

About half a mile farther, a small cluster of buildings loomed up, darkand obscure, by the roadside. 

"This is the place, " I said confidently, motioning the driver to pullup. I remembered that Henry Wilton's map had stopped at the third crossfrom the parting of the roads. 

"No, it isn't, " said Dicky eagerly. "It's two or three miles fartheron. I trailed the fellow myself to the next house, and that's a goodtwo miles at least. "

I had leaped to the ground, and opened the door of the carriage. 

"We are at the fourth place, " I said. 

"And the cockeyed barn?" inquired Mrs. Knapp, peering out. 

I was struck silent by this, and looked blankly at the dark forbiddingstructure that fronted on the road. 

"You're right, " said Mrs. Knapp with a laugh. "Can't you make out thatfunny little window at the end there?"

I looked more closely at the building. In the dim light of the stars, the coat of whitewash that covered it made it possible to trace theoutlines of a window in the gable that fronted the road. Some freak ofthe builder had turned it a quarter of the way around, giving it acomical suggestion of a man with a droop to his eye. 

"And the iron cow?" I asked. 

"Stupid! a pump, of course, " replied Mrs. Knapp with another laugh. "Now see if there is a lane here by the barn. "

A narrow roadway, just wide enough for a single wagon, joined the mainroad at the corner of the building. 

"Then drive up it quietly, " was Mrs. Knapp's direction. 

Just beyond the barn I made out the figure of the pump in a conspicuousplace by the roadside, and felt more confident that we were on theright road. 

The lane was now wrapped in Egyptian darkness. Trees lined both sidesof the narrow way. Their branches brushed our faces as we passed, andtheir tops seemed to meet above us till even the faint light of thestars scarcely glimmered through. The hoofs of the horses splashed inthe mud, and the rather clumsy carriage dragged heavily and slowlyforward. 

"I'd give five dollars to light my lamps, " growled the driver. We weretraveling by the instinct of the horses. 

"If your life is worth more than five dollars, you'd better keep themdark, " I said. 

The driver swore in an undertone as the hack lurched and groaned in aboggy series of ruts, and a branch whipped him in the face. I wasforced to give a grunt myself, as another slapped my sore arm and senta sharp twinge of pain shooting from the wound till it tingled in mytoes. Dicky, protected between us, chuckled softly. I reflectedsavagely that nothing spoils a man for company like a mistaken sense ofhumor. 

Suddenly the horses stopped so short that we were almost pitched out. 

"Hello! what's this?" I cried, drawing my revolver, fearful of anambush. 

"It's a fence, " said the driver. 

"There must be a gate, " I said, jumping down quickly. 

Mrs. Knapp rapped on the carriage door and I opened it. 

"Have you come to the bars?" she asked presently. 

"I guess so. We've come against something like a fence. "

"Well, then, " she replied, "when we get through, take the road to theleft. That will bring us to the house. "

"You are certain?"

"That is what Henry wrote in the cipher beneath the map. The house mustbe only a few hundred yards away. "

The bars were there, and I lifted the wet and soggy boards with ananxious heart. Were we, after all, so near the hiding-place? And whatwere we to find?

I mounted the seat again, and we drove forward. The road was scarcelydistinguishable, but the horses followed it without hesitation as itled behind a tall hedge and among scattered oaks. 

My heart beat fast. What if the enemy were before us?

"Have you got your revolver handy?" I whispered to Dicky. 

"Two of 'em, " he chuckled. "There's a double dose for the man thatwants it. "

On a sudden turn the house loomed up before us, and a wild clamor ofdogs broke the stillness of the night. 

"I hope they are tied, " I said, with a poor attempt to conceal mymisgivings. 

"We'll have a lively time in a quarter of a minute if they aren't, "laughed Dicky, as he followed me. 

But the baying and barking came no nearer, and I helped Mrs. Knapp outof the carriage. She looked at the house closely. 

"This is the place, " she said, in an unmistakable tone of decision. "Wemust be quick. I wish something would quiet those dogs; they will bringthe whole country out. "

It seemed an hour before we could raise any one, but it may not havebeen three minutes before a voice came from behind the door. 

"Who's there?"

"It is L. M. K. , " said Mrs. Knapp; then she added three words ofgibberish that I took to be the passwords used to identify the friendsof the boy. 

At the words there was the sound of bolts shooting back, and the heavydoor opened enough to admit us. As we passed in, it was closed oncemore and the bolts shot home. 

Before us stood a short, heavy-set man, holding a candle. His face, which was stamped with much of the bulldog look in it, was smooth-shaven except for a bristling brown mustache. He looked inquiringly atus. 

"Is he here--the boy?" cried Mrs. Knapp, her voice choked with anxiety. "Yes, " said the man. "Do we move again?" He seemed to feel no surpriseat the situation, and I inferred that it was not the first time he hadchanged quarters on a sudden at the darkest hour of the night. 

"At once, " said Mrs. Knapp, in her tone of decision. 

"It will take ten minutes to get ready, " said the man. "Come this way. "

I was left standing alone by the door in the darkness, with a burdenlifted from my mind. We had come in time. The single slip of paper leftby Henry Wilton had been the means, through a strange combination ofevents, to point the way to the unknown hiding-place of the boy. He wasstill safe, and the enemy were on a false trail. I should not have toreproach myself with the sacrifice of the child. 

Yet my mind was far from easy. The enemy might have been misled, but ifthey had followed the road marked out in the diagram I had brought fromtheir den, they were too close for comfort. I listened for any soundfrom the outside. The dogs had quieted down. Twice I thought I heardhoof-beats, and there was a chorus of barks from the rear of the house. But it was only the horses that had brought us hither, stampingimpatiently as they waited. 

In a few minutes the wavering light of the candle reappeared. Mrs. Knapp was carrying a bundle that I took to be the boy, and the manbrought a valise and a blanket. 

"It's all right, " said Mrs. Knapp. "No--I can carry him--I want tocarry him. "

The man opened the door, then closed and locked it as I helped Mrs. Knapp into the carriage. 

"Have you got him safe?" asked Dicky incredulously. "Well, I'll have tosay that you know more than I thought you did. " And the relief andsatisfaction in his tone were so evident that I gladly repented of mysuspicions of the light-hearted Dicky. 

"Have you heard anything?" I asked him anxiously. 

"I thought I heard a yell over here through the woods. We had betterget out of here. "

"Don't wait a second, " said the man. "The south road comes over thisother way. If you've heard anybody there, they will be here in fiveminutes. I'll follow you on a horse. "

With an injunction to haste, I stepped after Mrs. Knapp into thecarriage, the door was shut, Dicky mounted the seat, and we rolled downthe road on the return journey. 

"Oh, how thankful I am!" cried Mrs. Knapp. "There is a weight ofanxiety off my mind. Can you imagine what I have been fearing in thelast month?"

"I had thought a little about that myself, " I confessed. "But we arenot yet out of the woods, I am afraid. "

"Hark! what's that?" said Mrs. Knapp apprehensively. 

The carriage was now making its way through the bad stretch in thelane, and there was little noise in its progress. 

"I heard nothing, " I said, putting down the window to listen. "What wasit?"

"I thought it was a shout. "

There was no noise but the steady splash of horses' hoofs in the mud, and the sloppy, shearing sound of the wheels as they cut through thewet soil. 

As we bumped and groaned again through the ruts, however, there arosein the distance behind us the fierce barking of dogs, their voicesraised in anger and alarm. 

There was a faint halloo, and a wilder barking followed. Then my earcaught the splashing of galloping hoofs behind, and in a moment the manof the house rode beside us. 

"They've come, " he said, "or, anyhow, somebody's come. I let the dogsloose, and they will have a lively time for a while. "

At his words there was another chorus of barks and shouts. Then a shotrang out, and a fusillade followed with a mournful wail that died awayinto silence. 

"Good Lord! they've shot the dogs, " cried the man hotly. "I've a mindto go back and pepper some of 'em. "

"No, " said Mrs. Knapp, "we may need you. Let us hurry!"

A few yards more brought us to the main road, and once on the firmground the horses trotted briskly forward, while the horseman droppedbehind, the better to observe and give the alarm. 

"We were just in time, " said Mrs. Knapp, trembling. 

"Let us be thankful for so much, " said I cheerfully. 

"They will follow us, " said Mrs. Knapp, with conviction in her tone. 

"Not before they have broken into the house. That will keep them forsome time, I think. "

"Is there no sign of pursuit?"

I leaned out of the window. Only the deadened sound of the hoofs of ourown horses, the deadened roll of our own carriage wheels, were audiblein the stillness of the night. Then I thought I heard yells and fainthoof-beats in the distance, but again there was silence except for themuffled noise we made in our progress. 

"Can't we drive faster?" asked Mrs. Knapp, when I made my report. 

"I wouldn't spoil these horses for five hundred dollars, " growled thedriver when I passed him the injunction to hasten. 

"It's a thousand dollars for you if you get to the wharf ahead of theothers, " cried Mrs. Knapp. 

"And you'll have a bullet in your hide if you don't keep out of gunshotof them, " I added. 

The double inducement to haste had its effect, and we could feel theswifter motion of the vehicle under us, and see the more rapid passageof the trees and fences that lined the way. 

The wild ride appeared to last for ages. The fast trot of the horseswas a funeral pace to the flight of my excited and anxious imagination. What if we should be overtaken? The hack would offer no protection frombullets, and Mrs. Knapp and the boy could scarcely escape injury if itcame to a close encounter. But whenever I looked back there was onlythe single horseman galloping behind us, and the only sound to be heardwas that of our own progress. 

At last the houses began to pass more frequently. Now the road wasbroken by cross streets. Gas-lamps appeared, flickering faint andyellow in the morning air, as though the long night vigil had robbedthem of their vitality. We were once more within city limits, and Ifelt a loosening of the tense nerves of anxiety. The panting horsesnever slackened pace. We swept over a long bridge, and plunged down ashaded street, and the figure of the horseman was the only sign of lifebehind us. Of a sudden there sounded a long roll, as of a great drumbeating the reveille for an army of giants. The horseman quickened hispace and galloped furiously beside us. 

"They're crossing the bridge, " he shouted. 

"Whip up!" I cried to the driver. "They are only four blocks behindus. "

"Are they in sight?" asked Mrs. Knapp. 

"I can not see them, " I replied, "and it may not be the ones we fear. It is near daybreak, and we are not the only ones astir. "

I peered out, but a rising mist from the lagoon and the bay hinderedthe vision, and the sound of the rolling drum had ceased. 

The hack swung around a few corners, and then halted. 

"Here we are!" cried Dicky Nahl at the door. "You get aboard the tugand push off. Jake and I will run up to the foot of the wharf. If theycome, we can keep 'em off long enough for you to get aboard. " Dicky hada revolver in each hand, and the determined ring of his voice, sodifferent from his usual light bantering tone, gave me assurance of hissincerity. With the horseman he hastened to the entrance of the wharf, where the two loomed through the mist like shadow-men. 

The tug was where it lay when we left, and at my hail the captain andhis crew of three were astir. It was a moment's work to get Mrs. Knappand her charge aboard. 

"Come on!" I cried to Dicky and his companion. And as the lines werecast off they made a running jump on to the deck of the tug boat, andthe vessel backed out into the stream. 

As the wharf faded away into the mist that hung over the waters Ithought I saw shapes of men and horses rushing frantically to the edge, and a massive figure waving its arms like a madman, and shoutingimpotent curses into the air. But with the distance, the uncertainlight, and the curtain of mist that was thickening between us, my eyesmight have deceived me, and I omitted to mention my suspicions to Mrs. Knapp. 

When the mist and darkness had blotted out shore, wharves and shipping, the tug moved at half-speed down the channel. I persuaded the captainthat there was no need to sound the whistle, but he declined gruffly toincrease his speed. 

"I might as well be shot as run my boat ashore, " he growled, with a fewemphatic seamanlike adjectives that appeared to belong to nothing inparticular. "And any one that doesn't like my way of running a boat canget out and walk. "

I did not know of any particular reason for arguing the question, so Ijoined Mrs. Knapp. 

"Thank God, we are safe!" she said, with a sigh of relief. 

"We shall be in the city in half an hour, if that is safety, " I said. 

"It will be safety for a few days. Then we can devise a new plan. Ihave a strong arm to lean on again. "

"I think if you would tell me who the boy is, and why the dangerthreatens him, I might help you more wisely. "

"Perhaps you are right, " said Mrs. Knapp thoughtfully. "You shall knowbefore it is necessary to make our next plans. "

And then the boy called for her attention and I returned to the deck. 

The light of the morning was growing. Vessels were moving. The whistlesof the ferry-boats, as they gave warning of their way through the mist, rose shrill on the air. The waters were still, a faint ripple showingin strange contrast to the scene of last night. 

"There's a steamer behind us, " said Dicky Nahl, with a worried look asI joined him. "I've been listening to it for five minutes. "

"It's a tug, " said the captain. "She was lying on the other side of thewharf last night. "

"Good heavens!" I cried. "Put on full steam, then, or we shall be rundown in the bay. It's the gang we are trying to get away from. "

The captain looked at me suspiciously for a moment, and was inclined toresent my interference. Then he shrugged his shoulders as though it wasnone of his business whether we were lunatics or not so long as we paidfor the privilege, and rang the engine bell for full speed ahead. 

We had just come out of the Oakland Creek channel and the mist suddenlythinned before us. It left the bay and the city fair and wholesome inthe gray light, as though the storm had washed the grime and foulnessfrom air and earth and renewed the freshness of life. The clear outlineof the hills was scarcely broken by smoke. The ever-changing beautiesof the most beautiful of bays took on the faint suggestion of alivelier tint, the herald of the coming sun. We had come but a fewhundred yards into the clear air when out of the mist bank behind usshot another tug, the smoke streaming from the funnel, the steampuffing noisily from the escapes and the engine straining to increasethe speed. 

At the exclamation that broke from us, our captain for the first timeshowed interest in the speed of his boat, and whistled angrily down tohis engineer. 

"We can beat _her_" he said, with a contemptuous accent on the"her. "

"That's your business, " I returned, and walked aft to where Mrs. Knappwas standing, half-way up the steps from the cabin. 

"There is Darby Meeker, " I said, getting sight of him on the pursuingtug. 

"Can they catch us?" inquired Mrs. Knapp, the lines tightening abouther mouth. 

"I think not--the captain says not. I should say that we were holdingour own now. "

At this moment a tall, massive figure stepped from the pilot-house ofthe pursuing tug and shook its fists at us. At the sight of the man myheart stood still. The huge bulk, the wolf-face, just distinguishable, distorted, dark with rage and passion, stopped the blood, and I felt afaintness as of dropping from a height. With a gasp, life and voicecame back to me. 

"Doddridge Knapp!" I cried. 

Mrs. Knapp looked at me in alarm, and grasped the rail. 

"No! no!" she exclaimed. "A thousand times no! That is Elijah Lane!"

I gazed at her in wonder. Not Doddridge Knapp! Had my eyes played mefalse?

"Do you not understand?" she said in a low, intense tone. "He is ElijahLane, the father of the boy. An evil, wicked man--mad--truly mad. Hewould kill the boy. He killed the mother of the boy. I know, but it isnot a case for proof--not a case that the law can touch. And he hatesthe boy--and me!"

I began to grasp the truth, and recovered speech. 

"But why does he want to kill him? And would not the law punish thecrime?"

"You do not understand. The boy inherits a great fortune from hismother. Mr. Knapp and I are left trustees by the mother's will. If hehad control of the boy, the boy would die; but it would be fromcruelty, disease, neglect. It would not be murder in the eye of thelaw. But I know what would happen. Oh, see the wretch! How he hatesme!"

I was stunned with the words I had heard. They made much plain that hadpuzzled me, yet they left much more in darkness; and I looked blanklyat the figure on the other tug. It was truly a strange sight. The manwas beside himself with rage, shouting, gesticulating and leaping aboutthe deck in transports of passion. He showed every mark of a maniac. 

Suddenly he drew a revolver and sent shot after shot in our direction. We were far beyond the reach of a pistol bullet, but Mrs. Knappscreamed and dodged. 

"How he hates me!" she cried again. 

When the last shot was gone from his revolver the man flung the weaponin frenzy, as though he could hope to strike us thus. 

Then a strange thing happened. Whether due to the effort he had made inthe throw, or to a lurch of the tug in the waves we left behind us, orto a stumble over some obstruction, I could not say. But we saw the mansuddenly pitch forward over the low bulwarks of the tug into the watersof the bay. 

Mrs. Knapp gave a scream and covered her eyes. 

"Stop the boat!" I shouted. "Back her!"

The other tug had checked its headway at the same time, and there was aline of six or seven men along its side. 

"There he is!" cried one. 

The captain laid our tug across the tidal stream that swept us stronglytoward Goat Island. Then he steamed slowly toward the other tug. 

"He's gone, " said Dicky. 

The other tug seemed anxious to keep away from us, as in distrust ofour good intentions. I scanned the waters carefully, but the drowningman had gone down. 

Then, rising not twenty feet away, floating for a moment on the surfaceof the water, I saw plainly for the first time, the very caricature ofthe face of Doddridge Knapp. The strong wolf-features which in the Kingof the Street were eloquent of power, intellect and sagacity, were heremarked with the record of passion, hatred and evil life. I marveled nowthat I had ever traced a likeness between them. 

"Give me that hook!" I cried, leaning over the side of the tug. "Goahead a little. "

One of the men threw a rope. It passed too far, and drifted swiftlybehind. 

I made a wild reach with the hook, but it was too short. Just as Ithought I should succeed, the face gave a convulsive twitch, as if in aparting outburst of hate and wrath, and the body sank out of sight. Wewaited for a few minutes, but there was no further sign. The other tugthat had hovered near us turned about and made for the Oakland shore. Isigned to the captain to take his course for the city. 

The men talked in subdued tones, and I stood half-bewildered, with abursting sense of relief, by Mrs. Knapp. At last she took her handsfrom before her eyes, and the first rays of the sun that cleared thetops of the Alameda Hills touched her calm, solemn, hopeful face. 

"A new day has dawned, " she said. "Let us give thanks to God. "

CHAPTER XXX

THE END OF THE JOURNEY

For a few minutes we were silent. Water and land and sky started intonew glories at the touch of the rising sun. The many-hilled city tookon the hues of a fairy picture, and the windows gleamed with the magicfires that were flashed back in greeting to the god of day. The fewcotton-ball clouds that lingered about the mountain-tops, solestragglers of the army that had trooped up from the south at the blastof the rain-wind, turned from pink to white. The green-gray waters ofthe bay rippled lightly in the tide as the tug sent the miniaturesurges trailing in diverging lines from its bow. The curtain of mistthat hid the Alameda shore rose and lightened at the touch of the warmrays. The white sails of the high-masted ships scattered through thebay, drooped in graceful festoons as they turned to the sun to rid themof the rain-water that clung to their folds. The ferry-boats, movingwith mock majesty, furnished the signs of life to the silent panorama. 

It seemed scarcely possible that this was the raging, tossing water wehad crossed last night. And the fiery scene of passion and death we hadjust witnessed was so foreign to its calm beauties, that I couldbelieve it had happened elsewhere in some dream of long ago. 

I was roused by the voice of Mrs. Knapp, who sat at the head of thecabin stairs, looking absently over the water. 

"I have not dealt frankly with you, " she said. "Perhaps it is betterthat you should know, as you know so much already. I feel that I mayrely on your discretion. "

"I think I can keep a secret, " I replied, concealing my curiosity. 

"I should not tell you if I did not have full confidence. " Then she wassilent for a minute. "That man, " she continued at last, with a shudderin her voice, "that man was Mr. Knapp's brother. "

I suppressed an exclamation, and she continued:

"They have little in common, even in looks. I wonder you thought for amoment that he was Mr. Knapp. Few people who know them both have traceda resemblance. "

"Perhaps those who do not know them would be more likely to find thecommon points, " I suggested. "Members of a family see only thedifference that marks one of them from another. The stranger at firstsees the family type in all and notes the differences later. "

"Yes, " said Mrs. Knapp. "It's like picking out the Chinamen. At firstthey are all alike. We see only the race type. Afterward, we see themany and marked differences. "

"I think, " said I, leading back to the main subject, "that theremarkable circumstances under which I had seen Mr. Lane had a gooddeal to do with the illusion. This morning, for the first time, I sawhis face under full light and close at hand. "

Mrs. Knapp nodded. Then she continued:

"Mr. Knapp and his brother parted thirty years ago in Ohio. Thebrother--the man who has just gone--was younger than Mr. Knapp, thoughhe looked older. He was wild in his youth. When he left home it was inthe night, and for some offense that would have brought him withinreach of the law. Mr. Knapp never told me what it was and I neverasked. For fifteen years nothing was heard of him. Mr. Knapp and Imarried, we had come to San Francisco, and he was already a rising manin the city. One day this man came. He had drifted to the coast in somelawless enterprise, and by chance found his brother. "

Mrs. Knapp paused. 

"And at once began to live off of him, I suppose, " I threw in as anencouragement to proceed. 

"Not exactly, " said Mrs. Knapp. "He confessed some of his rascality toMr. Knapp, but pleaded that he was anxious to reform. Mr. Knapp agreedto help him, but made the condition that he should take another name, and should never allow the relationship to be known. Mr. Lane--I cannot call him by his true name--was ready to agree to the conditions. Ithink he was very glad indeed to conceal himself under an assumed name, and hide from the memory of his earlier years. "

"Had his crimes then been so great?" I asked, as Mrs. Knapp againceased to speak. 

"He had been a wicked, wicked man, " said Mrs. Knapp. "The full tale ofhis villainy I never knew, but he had been a negro stealer, --one ofthose who captured free negroes or the darkies from Kentucky andMissouri in the days before the war, and sold them down the river. Hehad been the leader of a wild band in Arkansas and Texas, who madetheir living by robbing travelers and stealing horses. He had been neardeath a hundred times, yet he had escaped unhurt. Mr. Knapp helped him. He prospered in business, bought a ranch, and turned farmer. To allappearances, he had reformed completely. No one would suspect in theSonoma rancher the daring leader of the outlaws in Texas. "

"I could believe anything of him, " I said grimly. 

"You have had a taste of his quality, " said Mrs. Knapp. "Well, it wasseven years ago that he married. His wife was much younger than he, --alovely girl, and her parents were rich. How he got her I do not see. Itwas his gift of the tongue, I suppose, for he could talk well. She wasnot happy with him, but was better contented when, two years later, herboy came. Mr. Lane was often from home, but I do not think sheregretted the neglect with which he treated her. He was not a man whomade his home pleasant while he was about. After a while he used todisappear for weeks, spending the time in low haunts in the city, ornone knew where. Last year Mrs. Lane's father died, and she came inunder the will for more than a million dollars' worth of property. ThenMr. Lane changed his habits. He became most attentive to his wife. Helooked to her wants, and appeared to the world as a model husband. Butmore was going on than we knew. From the little she told me, from thehints she dropped, she must have looked upon him with dread. She failedrapidly in health, and six months ago she died. "

"Murdered?" I asked. 

"I believe it with all my soul, " said Mrs. Knapp. "But there was noevidence--not a particle. I tried to find it, but it was beyond thepower of the doctors to discover. "

"And his motive?"

"He thought he was heir to her fortune. When he found that she had leftit with Mr. Knapp and me, in trust for the boy, his rage was frightfulto see. His servants told me of his dreadful ravings. He dared not saya word to Mr. Knapp, but he came and spoke to me about it. I was afraidfor my life that time. He said that the money was his, and he said itwith such meaning that I felt assured he would stop at nothing to getit. But when he spoke, I cut him so short that he visited the house butonce again. Before he had time to put any of his wicked thoughts intoaction I took the boy to my home, thinking that there I could keep himin safety. Mr. Knapp pooh-poohed my fears, and when Mr. Lane made ademand for the child was in favor of giving him up. 'The father is theone to care for the boy, ' he said, and washed his hands of the wholematter. "

"Then Mr. Knapp had nothing to do with the affair, one way or theother?"

"Oh, no--nothing at all. I believe, though, that Henry did use his namewith the police, to deter them from interfering with our plans. "

I remembered Detective Coogan's words, and knew that she was correct inthis supposition. 

"Mr. Lane, " she continued, "threatened legal proceedings. But, knowinghis own past, and knowing that I knew something of it, too, he darednot begin them. Mr. Knapp's feelings in the matter had made meunwilling to keep the boy in my house, but at first I thought it thebest way of protecting him, and had him with me. Then one night thehouse was broken into, and two men were discovered in the room wherethe boy usually slept. I had taken him to my own bed that night, for hewas ailing, and so he escaped. The alarm was raised before they foundhim, and the men fled. Mr. Knapp was confident that they were ordinaryhousebreakers, but I knew better. I dared keep the boy there no longer, and called Henry Wilton to assist me in making him safe. He found asuitable house for the boy, and hired men to guard it. But after oneexperience in which the place was attacked and almost carried by storm, Henry thought it better to hide the boy and watch the enemy. The restyou know. "

Heaving a sigh as of relief, she went on:

"Mr. Lane was insane, I am certain. I tried to have Mr. Knapp takesteps to lock him up. But Mr. Knapp could not believe that his brotherwas so wicked as to wish to take the life of his own child, and shuthis ears to the talk of his madness. I think he was fearful of ascandal in which the relationship should become known, and the storiesof his brother's early days should come to the public. But there was atime, a few weeks ago, when I was near spurring Mr. Knapp to action. Itwas at the time of his trip to Virginia City. Mr. Lane came to thehouse while I was away and scared the servants into fits with histhreats and curses. Luella had the courage and tact to face him and gethim out of the house, and I telegraphed for Mr. Knapp. "

"I remember the occasion, though I didn't know what was going on. "

"Well, Mr. Knapp was very angry, and had a long talk with Lane. He toldme that the creature cried and pleaded for forgiveness, and promisedamendment for the future. And Mr. Knapp believed him. Yet that verynight you were assailed with Luella in Chinatown. "

The truth flashed on me. The groans and cries behind the locked door inDoddridge Knapp's office, the voices which were like to one manpleading and arguing with himself, were all explained. 

"I think the assault was something of an accident, " she continued; "or, rather, it was more the doing of Terrill than of Lane. "

"What was the cause of Terrill's enmity?" I asked. "He seemed to take ahearty personal interest in the case for a hired man. "

"For one thing, a family interest. I think he is a son of Lane's earlyyears. For another, he had a violent personal quarrel with Henry oversome matter, and you have had the benefit of the enmity. But I don'tthink you'll hear of him again--or Meeker either. They will be in toomuch of a hurry to leave the state. "

I thought of Terrill lying bruised and sore at Livermore, and felt nofear of him. 

"You took great chances in sending me to Livermore, " I said. "It mighthave gone hard with Mr. Knapp's plans if I had not got back. "

"I thought of that. But if the boy had been where I supposed all wouldhave been well. I should have telegraphed you before nightfall toreturn. But in the distraction of my search I did not give up tillmidnight. I left a telegram at the office to be sent you the firstthing in the morning, but by that time you were here. It was a boldescape, and I feel that we owe you much for it. "

At her last words we were at the wharf, and landed free from fear. 

An hour later I reached my lodgings, sore with fatigue, and half-deadfor want of sleep. The excitement that had spurred my strength for thelast enterprise no longer supported me. I slept twenty-four hours inpeace, and no dream of Doddridge Knapp's brother or of the snake-eyesof Tom Terrill disturbed my repose. 

CHAPTER XXXI

THE REWARD

"I've heard about you, " said Luella, when on the next evening I made mybow to her. "But I want to hear all about it from yourself. Tell me, please. "

"Where shall I begin?" I asked, looking into the most charming offaces, which shone before me. 

"How stupid to ask! At the beginning, of course. "

"I was born of poor but honest parents"--I began. 

Luella interrupted me with a laugh. 

"How absurd you are! Anyhow, you can tell me about that later. Justbegin with the San Francisco beginning. Tell me why you came and allabout it. "

"Very good, " I said; "though really this part is much longer than theother. "

Then I told her the story of my coming, of the murder of Henry Wilton, of the struggles with death and difficulty that had given the spice ofvariety to my life since I had come across the continent. 

It was an inspiration to have such a listener. Under the encouragementof her sympathy I found an unwonted flow of words and ideas. Laughterand tears shone in her eyes as the ludicrous and sorrowful parts of myexperience touched her by turns. And at the end I found--I really don'tknow how it happened--I found that I was clasping her hand and lookingup into her eyes in a trance of intoxication from the subtle magnetismof her lovely presence. 

For a minute we were silent. 

"Oh, " she cried softly, withdrawing her hand, and looking dreamilyaway, "I knew it was right--that it must be right. You have justifiedmy faith, and more!"

"I am repaid for all by those words, " I said. I am afraid I stared veryhard at her, but it was pleasant, indeed, to look into Luella's eyeswithout any reservations or conscientious qualms in thinking of my dutyto hang her father. 

"You deserve a much greater reward than that, " said Luella. 

"I want a much greater reward than that, " said I boldly. 

I did not think the courage was in me. But under the magnetic influenceof the woman before me I forgot what a poor devil I was. Luella lookedat me, and I saw in her eyes that she understood what I would say. 

I do not know what I did say. I have no doubt it was very badly put, but she listened seriously. Then she said:

"That's very nice of you to want me, but I am going to marry thepresident of the Omega Company. "

I turned sick with despair at these words so gently said, and a pang offierce jealousy, tinged with wonder, shot through me. "Surely she can'tbe in love with that red-faced brute we fought with in the Omegaoffice, " I thought. That was impossible. Besides, we had turned himout. Doddridge Knapp would be president as soon as the new board ofdirectors elected its officers. She couldn't, of course, think ofmarrying her own father. I could not understand what she meant, but Iknew I was furiously uncomfortable and wished I was rich enough to buyup the company. Luella saw my distress as I tried to rise and fly fromthe place. 

"Don't go, " she said gently. "What are you going to do with your men?"

"The free companions are to be disbanded, " I said, recovering myselfwith a gulp. 

"Are any of them killed?" she asked in solicitous tones. 

"No. Porter is pretty badly hurt. We got him down from Livermore to-day. He was in the jail there, with Abrams and Brown. We gave bail forthem, and all the men are back at the Montgomery Street place. Barkhouse is getting on all right, and there are a few bruises and cutsscattered around in my flock. But they'll all be in trim for anotherfight in two or three weeks. "

"I suppose you'll be sorry to part with them. "

"They are a faithful set, but I've had enough excitement for a while. "

"And Mrs. Borton?"

"Is to be buried to-morrow. "

"And you, Mr. Dudley?"

This question struck me a little blank. I had really not thought ofwhat I was going to do. 

"It's another case of an occupation gone, " I said rather ruefully. "With the break-up of the plots and the close of the Omega deal, I amat the end of my employments. "

With this view of the question before me, I fell into a panic ofregrets, and began to blush furiously at my folly in imagining for aninstant that Luella could think of me for a husband. 

"No, " said Luella thoughtfully. "You are just at the beginning. "

The tone, even more than the words, braced my nerves, and once morethere glowed within me a generous courage of the future. 

"You are right. I thank you, " I said feelingly. "I have faith in theopportunities. "

"And I have faith--" said Luella. Then she stopped. 

"In the man, I hope, " I ventured. 

Luella did not answer, but she gave me a look that meant more thanwords. I was a trifle bewildered, wondering where I stood in the eyesof this capricious young woman, but my speculations were cut short bythe coming of Mrs. Knapp. 

There was no reservation in her greeting. Whatever lingering doubts ofme her mind had held, they had all melted away in the fire of that lastjourney that had ended the struggle for the life of the boy. As wetalked over the events of the month, I found nothing left of the silentopposition with which she had watched my growing friendship with thedaughter of the house. At last she cried:

"Oh, I had almost forgotten. Mr. Knapp wishes to see you in his roombefore you go. "

"I am at his service, " I said, and went at once to the den of the Wolf. 

"Ah, Wilton, I find you're not Wilton, " he growled amiably. The loss ofhis brother had not affected his spirits. 

"Quite true, " I said. 

"You needn't explain, " he said. "The women folks say it's all right, though I don't quite understand it myself. "

"I can tell you the story, " I said. 

"I don't want to hear it, " he growled. "I've tried you, and that'senough for me. "

I murmured my appreciation and thanks for his good opinion. 

The Wolf waved his hand as a disposal of all acknowledgments, andgrowled again:

"Have you any engagements that would keep you from taking the place ofpresident of the Omega Company?"

I fell back on the chair, speechless. 

"There'll be a good salary, " he continued. "Well, of course, youneedn't be in a hurry to accept. Take a day to think over it if youlike. " The Wolf actually smiled. 

"Oh, I don't need any time, " I gasped. "I'll take it now. "

"Well, you'll have to wait till the directors meet, " he said. 

I gave him my hearty thanks for the unlooked-for favor. 

"To tell you the truth, " he said, "it was the doing of the womenfolks. "

My heart gave a leap at the announcement, for it carried a great dealmore with it than Doddridge Knapp knew. 

"I am a thousand times obliged to you--and the ladies, " I said. 

"Well, I wasn't unwilling, " he said indulgently. "In fact, I intendedto do something handsome for you. But there's one condition I mustmake. "

I looked my inquiry. 

"You must not speculate. You haven't got the head for it. "

"Thank you, " I said. "I'll keep out, except under your orders. "

"Right, " he said. "You've the best head for carrying out orders I everfound. "

The King of the Street waved me good night, and I went back to theparlor. 

Luella was sitting where I had left her, and no one else was about. Shewas looking demurely down and did not glance up till I was beside her. 

"I have won a double prize, " I said. "I am the president of Omega. "

And I stooped and kissed her.