“Quiteso，mydearMr。Viner！“heagreedsmoothly。“Itwouldappear，then，fromwhatyousaythatIhavebeenmistaken-evenstupidlyso，Iamafraid。Andinthatcase，Icanonlyapologizeformyintrusion，and，asyousodelicatelyputit，getout。“Heslippedthepapers，withaphilosophicshrugofhisshoulders，intohisinsidecoatpocket，andtookabackwardsteptowardthedoor。“Ibidyougood-night，then，Mr。Viner。Thepapers，asyoustate，aredoubtlessofnovaluetoyou，soyoucan，ofcourse，havenoobjectiontomyhandingthemovertothepolice，who-“
“No，no！Wait！Wait！“theotherwhisperedwildly。“Wait！“
“Ah！“murmuredtheAdventurer。
“I-I’ll“-thebentoldfigurewasclawingathisbeard-“I’ll-“
“Buythem？“suggestedtheAdventurerpleasantly。
“Yes，I’ll-I’llbuythem。I-I’vegotalittlemoney，onlyalittle，allI’vebeenabletosaveinyears，a-ahundreddollars。
“Howmuchdidyousay？“inquiredtheAdventurercoldly。
“Twohundred。“Thevoicewasamaudlinwhine。
TheAdventurertookanotherbackwardsteptowardthedoor。
“Threehundred！“
Anotherstep。
“Five-athousand！“
TheAdventurerlaughedsuddenly。
“That’sbetter！“hesaid。“Whereyoukeepathousand，youkeeptherest。Whereisthethousand，Mr。Viner？“
Thebentfigurehesitatedamoment；andthen，withwhatsoundedlikeadespairingcry，pointedtothetable。
“It’sthere，“hewhimpered。“God’scursesonyou，forthethiefyouare。“
RhodaGrayfoundhereyesfixedinsudden，strainedfascinationonthetable-as，sheimagined，theAdventurer’sweretoo。Itwasbareofanycovering，norwerethereanyarticlesonitssurface，nor，asfarasshecouldsee，wasthereanydrawer。AndnowtheAdventurer，hisrighthandstillinhiscoatpocket，andbulgingtherewheresheknewquitewellitgraspedhisrevolver，steppedabruptlytothetable，facingtheotherwiththetablebetweenthem。
Thebentoldfigurestillhesitated，andthen，withthedespairingcryagain，graspedatthetopofthetable，andjerkedittowardhim。Thesurfaceseemedtoslidesidewaysalittleway，amatteroftwoorthreeinches，andthenstickthere；buttheAdventurer，inaninstant，hadthrustthefingersofhislefthandintothecrevice。Hedrewoutanumberofloosebanknotes，andthrusthisfingersinagainforafurthersupply。
“Openitwider！“hecommandedcurtly。
“I-I’mtryingto，“theothermumbled，andbentdowntopeerunderthetable。“It’sstuck。Thecatchisunderneath，and-“
ItseemedtoRhodaGray，gazingintothatdimlylightedroom，asthoughsheweresuddenlyheldspellboundasinsomehorribleandamazingtrance。Likeahideousjack-in-the-boxthegrayheadpoppedabovethelevelofthetableagain，andquickasaflash，arevolverwasthrustintotheAdventurer’sface；andtheAdventurer，caughtatadisadvantage，，sincehishandinhiscoatpocketwasbelowtheinterveningtabletop，stoodthereasthoughinstantaneouslytransformedintosomemotionless，inanimatething，hisfingersstillgrippingatanothersheafofbanknotesthathehadbeenintheactofscoopingoutfromthenarrowaperture。
AndthenagainRhodaGraystared，andstarednowasthoughbereftofhersenses；anduponhercrept，coldanddeadly，afearandaterrorthatseemedtoengulfherverysoulitself。Thatheadthatlookedlikeajack-in-the-boxwasgone；thegraybeardseemedsuddenlytobeshornaway，andthegrayhairtoo，andtofallandfluttertothetable，andthebentshoulderswerenotbentanymore，anditwasn’tNickyVineratall-onlyaclever，awonderfullyclever，impersonationthathadbeenhelpedoutbythepoorandmeagerlight。Andterrorgrippedatheragain，foritwasn’tNickyViner。Thosenarrowedeyes，thatleering，gloatingface，thoseworkinglipswereDanglar’s。
And，asfromsomefardistance，dulledbecauseherconsciousnesswasdulled，sheheardDanglarspeak。
“Perhapsyou’lltakeyourhandoutofthatright-handcoatpocketofyoursnow！“sneeredDanglar。“Andtakeitout-empty！“
TheAdventurer’sface，asnearlyasRhodaGraycouldsee，hadnotmovedamuscle。Heobeyednow，coolly，withashrugofhisshoulders。
Danglarappearedtoexperiencenofurthertroublewiththesurfaceofthetablenow。Hesuddenlyjerkeditalmostoff，displayingwhatRhodaGraynowknewtobetheremainderofthelargepackageofbanknoteshehadtakenfromthegarretearlierintheevening。
“Helpyourselftotherest！“heinvitedcaustically。“Thereisn’tfiftythousandthere，butyouarequitewelcometoallthereis-inreturnforthosepapers。
TheAdventurerwasapparentlyobsessedwithaninspectionofhisfingernails；hebegantopolishthoseofonehandwiththepalmoftheother。
“Quiteso，Danglar！“hesaidcoolly。“Iadmitit-Iamashamedofmyself。IhatetothinkthatIcouldbecaughtbyyou；butI
supposeIcanfindsomeself-extenuatingcircumstances。Youseemohaverisentoanamazinglyhigherorderofintelligence。Infact，foryou，Danglar，itisnotatallbad！“Hewentonpolishinghisnails。“Wouldyoumindtakingthatthingoutofmyface？Evenyououghttobeabletohandleiteffectivelyafewinchesfartheraway。“
UnderthestudiedinsultDanglar’sfacehadgrownamottledred。
“Damnyou！“hesnarled。“I’lltakeitawaywhenIgetgoodandready；andbythattimeI’llhaveyoutalkingoutoftheothersideofyourmouth！See？Doyouknowwhatyou’reupagainst，youslickdude？“
“Ihaveafairlygoodimagination，“repliedtheAdventurersmoothly。
“Youhave，eh？“mimickedDanglarwickedly。“Well，youdon’tneedtoimagineanything！I’llgiveyouthestraightgoodsso’stherewon’tbeanychanceofamistake。Andnevermindaboutthehigherorderofintelligence！Itwashighenough，andalittletospare，tomakeyouwalkintothetrap！IhopedI’dgetyouboth，youandyourshe-pal，theWhiteMoll；thatyou’dcomeheretogether-butI’mnotkicking。It’saprettygoodstarttogetyou！“
“Isitnecessarytomakeaspeech？“complainedtheAdventurermonotonously。“Ican’thelplistening，ofcourse。“
“YoucanmakeupyourmindforyourselfwhenI’mthrough-whetherit’snecessaryornot！“retortedDanglarviciously。“I’vegotalittlepropositiontoputuptoyou，andmaybeit’llhelpyoutoaddtwoandtwotogetherifIletyouseeallthecards。Understand？
You’vehadyourrunoflucklately，quiteabitofit，haven’tyou，youandtheWhiteMoll？Well，it’smyturnnow！You’vebeenqueeringourgametothelimit，curseyou！“Danglarthrusthisworkingfacealittlefartheroverthetable，andnearertotheAdventurer。“Well，whatwastheanswer？Wheredidyougetthedopeyoumadeyourplayswith？Itwasacinch，wasn’tit，thattherewasaleaksomewhereinourowncrowd？“Helaughedoutsuddenly。“Youpoorfool！Didyouthinkyoucouldpullthatsortofstuffforever？
Didyou？Well，then，howdoyoulikethe’leak’to-night？Yougettheidea，don’tyou？Everybody，everylastsoulthatisinwithus，gotthedetailsofwhattheythoughtwasastraightplayto-night-anditleakedtoyou，asIknewitwould；andyouwalkedintothetrap，asIknewyouwould，becausethebaitwasgoodandjuicy，andlookedtheeasiestthingtoannexthateverhappened。Fiftythousanddollars！Fiftythousand-nothing！Allyouhadtodowastogetafewpapersthatitwouldn’tbotheranycrooktoget，evenanear-crooklikeyou，andthencomehereandscrewthemoneyoutofahelplessoldman，whowassupposedtohavebeendiscoveredtobeamiser。Easy，wasn’tit？OnlyNickyVinerwasn’tamiser！WechoseNickybecauseofwhathappenedtwoyearsago。Itmadethingslookprettynearright，didn’tit？Lookedstraight，thatpartaboutPerlmer，too，didn’tit？Thatwasthecome-on。Perlmerneversawthosepapersyou’vegotthereinyourpocket。Idopedthemout，andweplantedthemniceandhandywhereyoucouldgetthemwithoutmuchtroubleinthedrawerofPerlmer’sdesk，and-“
“It’salongstory，“interruptedtheAdventurer，withquietinsolence。
“It’sgotashortending，“saidDanglar，withanuglyleer。“Wecouldhavebumpedyouoffwhenyouwentforthosepapers，butifyouwentthatfaryou’dcomefarther，andthatwasn’ttheplacetodoit，andwecouldn’tcoverourselvestherethewaywecouldhere。
Thisistheplace。Webroughtthattricktablehereawhileago，assoonaswehadgotridofNickyViner。Thatwastheonlybitofstagesettingwehadtodotomakethestoryringtruerightuptothecurtain，incaseitwasnecessary。Itwouldn’thavebeennecessaryifyouandtheWhiteMollhadbothcometogether，forthenyouwouldneitherofyouhavegotanyfurtherthanthatotherroom。Itwouldhaveendedthere。Butweweren’ttakinganychances。
I’llpayyouthecomplimentofadmittingthatweweren’tcountingongettingyouoffyourguardanytooeasilyif，asithappened，youcamealone，for，beingalone，orifeitherofyouwerealone，therewasthatlittlepropositionthathadtobesettled，insteadofjustknockingyouontheheadoutthereinthedarkinthatotherroom；
andso，asIsay，weweren’toverlookinganybetsonaccountofthelittletroubleittooktoplantthattableandthemoney。Wetriedtothinkofeverything！“DanglarpausedforamomenttomocktheAdventurerwithnarrowedeyes。“That’sthestory；here’stheend。
IhopedI’dgetyoubothtogether，youandtheWhiteMoll。Ididn’t。
ButI’vegotyou。Ididn’tgetyouboth-andthat’swhatgivesyouachanceforyourlife，becauseshe’sworthmoretousthanyouare。
Ifyou’dbeentogether，youwouldhavegoneout-together。Asitis，I’llseethatyoudon’tdoanymoreharmanyway，butyougetonechance。Whereisshe？Ifyouanswerthat，youwill，ofcourse，answeraminorquestionandlocatethat’leak’，forme，thatIwasspeakingaboutamomentago。Butwe’lltakethemainthingfirst。