Theywalkedonrapidly；thelurchingfigurebesidehercoveringthegroundatanastoundingrateofspeed。Themanmadenoefforttotalk。Shewasgladofit。Sheneednotbesoanxiouslyonherguardaswouldbethecaseifaconversationwerecarriedon，andshe，whoknewsomuchandyetsopitifullylittle，mustweighhereveryword，andfeelherwaywitheverysentence。Andbesides，too，itgavehertimetothink。Whereweretheygoing？Whatsortofaplacewasit，thisheadquartersofthegang？Foritmustbetheheadquarters，sinceitwasfromtherethecodemessageswouldnaturallyemanate，andthisdeformedcreature，fromwhathehadsaid，wasthe“secretary“ofthenefariouscliquethatwasruledbyhisbrother。Andwasluckreallywithheratlast？SupposeshehadbeenbutafewminuteslaterinreachingGypsyNan’shouse，andhadfound，insteadofthismanhere，onlythenoteinstructinghertogoandmeetDanglar！Whatwouldshehavedone？Whatexplanationcouldshehavemadeforhernonappearance？Herhandswouldhavebeentied。Shewouldhavebeenhelpless。Shecouldnothaveansweredthesummons，forshecouldhavehadnoideawherethisgang-lairwas；andthenotecertainlywouldnotcontainsuchdetailsasstreetandnumber，whichshewasobviouslysupposedtoknow。Shesmiledalittlegrimlytoherself。Yes，itseemedasthoughfortunewerebeginningtosmileuponheragain-fortune，atleast，hadsuppliedherwithaguide。
Thetwistedfigurewalkedontheinsideofthesidewalk，andcuriouslyseemedtoseekasmuchaspossibletheprotectingshadowsofthebuildings，andinvariablyshrankbackoutofthewayofthepassers-bytheymet。Shewatchedhimnarrowlyastheywentalong。
Whatwasheafraidof？Recognition？Itpuzzledherforatime，andthensheunderstood:Itwasnotfearofrecognition；thesullen，almostbelligerentstarewithwhichhemettheeyesofthosewithwhomhecameintoclosecontactbeliedthat。Themanwasmorbidly，abnormallysensitiveofhisdeformity。
TheyturnedatlastintooneoftheEastSidecrossstreets，andherguidehaltedfinallyonacornerinfrontofalittleshopthatwasclosedanddark。Shestaredcuriouslyasthemanunlockedthedoor。Perhaps，afterall，shehadbeenwoefullymistaken。Itdidnotlookatallthekindofplacewherecrimesthatranthegamutofthedecaloguewerehatched，atallthesortofplacethatwasthecouncilchamberofperhapsthemostcunning，certainlythemostcold-bloodedandunscrupulous，bandofcrooksthatNewYorkhadeverharbored。Andyet-whynot？Wasn’ttheretheessenceofcunninginthatveryfact？Whowouldsuspectanythingofthesortfromaramshackle，two-storylittlehouselikethis，whosefrontwasawoe-begonelittlestore，theproceedsofwhichmightjustbarelykeepthebodyandsoulofitsproprietortogether？
Themanfumbledwiththelock。Therewasnotasinglelightshowingfromtheplace，butinthedwindlingraysofadistantstreetlampshecouldseethemeagerwindowdisplaythroughthefilthy，unwashedpanes。Itwasevidentlyacheapandtawdrynotionstore，wellsuitedtoitslocality。Thereweretoysofthecheapestvariety，stationeryofthesamegrade，cheappipes，cigarettes，tobacco，candy-apackageofneedles。