Thebagwasnotheavy，buthefoundthatinhisexhaustedstatethisnewexertionwastelling，andhewasgladwhenhereachedthehotel。Equallygladwasheinhisdrippingclothestoslipbytheporter，andwiththekeyinhispocketascendunnoticedto74。
Yethadhisexperiencebeenlargerhemighthavesparedhimselfthatsensitiveness。Forthehotelwasoneofthosegreatcaravansariespopularwiththereturningminer。Itreceivedhimandhisgolddustinhisworn-outandbedraggledworkingclothes，andreturnedhimthenextdayasawell-dressedcitizenonMontgomeryStreet。Itwashardindeedtorecognizetheunshaven，unwashed，andunkempt“arrival“onemetontheprincipalstaircaseatnightinthescrupulouslyneatstrangeronesatoppositetoatbreakfastthenextmorning。Inthisdailywhirlofmutationallidentitywasswamped，asRandolphlearnedtoknow。
Atpresent，findinghimselfinacomfortablebedroom，hisfirstactwastochangehiswetclothes，whichinthewarmertemperatureandthedeclineofhisfeverishnessnowbegantochillhim。Heopenedtheportmanteauandfoundacompletesuitofclothing，evidentlyaforeignmake，wellpreserved，asiffor“shore-going。“Hispridewouldhavepreferredahumblersuitaslesseninghisobligation，buttherewasnoother。Hediscoveredthepurse，achamoisleatherbagsuchasminersandtravelerscarried，whichcontainedadozengoldpiecesandsomepapernotes。Takingfromitasinglecointodefraytheexpensesofameal，herestrappedthebag，andleavingthekeyinthedoorlockforthebenefitofhisreturninghost，madehiswaytothediningroom。
Foramomenthewasembarrassedwhenthewaiterapproachedhiminquisitively，butitwasonlytolearnthenumberofhisroomto“charge“themeal。Heateitquickly，butnotvoraciously，forhisappetitehadnotyetreturned，andhewaseagertogetbacktotheroomandseethestrangeragainandreturntohimthecoinwhichwasnolongernecessary。
Butthestrangerhadnotyetarrivedwhenhereachedtheroom。
Overanhourhadelapsedsincetheirstrangemeeting。Anewfearcameuponhim:wasitpossiblehehadmistakenthehotel，andhisbenefactorwasawaitinghimelsewhere，perhapsevenbeginningtosuspectnotonlyhisgratitudebuthishonesty！Thethoughtmadehimhotagain，buthewashelpless。Notknowingthestranger’sname，hecouldnotinquirewithoutexposinghissituationtothelandlord。Butagain，therewasthekey，anditwasscarcelypossiblethatitfittedanother74inanotherhotel。Hedidnotdaretoleavetheroom，butsatbythewindow，peeringthroughthestreamingpanesintothestorm-sweptstreetbelow。Graduallythefatiguehisexcitementhadhithertokeptawaybegantoovercomehim；hiseyesonceortwiceclosedduringhisvigil，hisheadnoddedagainstthepane。Heroseandwalkedupanddowntheroomtoshakeoffhisdrowsiness。Anotherhourpassed——nineo’clock，blowninfitful，far-offstrokesfromsomewind-rockedsteeple。
Stillnostranger。Howinvitingthebedlookedtohiswearyeyes！
Themanhadtoldhimhewantedrest；hecouldliedownonthebedinhisclothesuntilhecame。Hewouldwakenquicklyandbereadyforhisbenefactor’sdirections。Itwasagreattemptation。Heyieldedtoit。Hisheadhadscarcelysunkuponthepillowbeforeheslippedintoaprofoundanddreamlesssleep。
Heawokewithastart，andforafewmomentslayvaguelystaringatthesunbeamsthatstretchedacrosshisbedbeforehecouldrecallhimself。Theroomwasexactlyasbefore，theportmanteaustrappedandpushedunderthetableashehadleftit。Therecameatapatthedoor——thechambermaidtodouptheroom。Shehadbeenthereoncealready，butseeinghimasleep，shehadforbornetowakehim。
Apparentlythespectacleofagentlemanlyingonthebedfullydressed，eventohisboots，wasnotanunusualoneatthathotel，forshemadenocomment。Itwastwelveo’clock，butshewouldcomeagainlater。
Hewasbewildered。Hehadslepttheroundoftheclock——thatwasnaturalafterhisfatigue——butwherewashisbenefactor？Thelatenessofthetimeforbadetheconclusionthathehadmerelysleptelsewhere；hewouldassuredlyhavereturnedbythistimetoclaimhisportmanteau。Theportmanteau！Heunstrappeditandexaminedthecontentsagain。Theywereundisturbedashehadleftthemthenightbefore。Therewasafurtherchangeoflinen，thebuckskinbag，whichhecouldseenowcontainedacoupleofBankofEnglandnotes，withsomeforeigngoldmixedwithAmericanhalf-
eagles，andacheap，roughmemorandumbookclaspedwithelastic，containingaletterinaboyishhandaddressed“DearDaddy“andsigned“Bobby，“andaphotographofaboytakenbyaforeignphotographeratCallao，astheprintedbackdenoted，butnothinggivinganycluewhatevertothenameoftheowner。
Astrangeideaseizedhim:didtheportmanteaureallybelongtothemanwhohadgivenittohim？Hadhebeentheinnocentreceiverofstolengoodsfromsomeonewhowishedtoescapedetection？Herecallednowthathehadheardstoriesofrobberyofluggagebythieves“Sydneyducks“——onthedesertedwharves，andremembered，too，——hecouldnottellwhythethoughthadescapedhimbefore，——
thatthemanhadspokenwithanEnglishaccent。Butthenextmomentherecalledhisfrankandopenmanner，andhismindclearedofallunworthysuspicion。Itwasmorethanlikelythathisbenefactorhadtakenthisdelicatewayofmakingafree，permanentgiftforthattemporaryservice。Yethesmiledfaintlyatthereturnofthatyouthfuloptimismwhichhadcausedhimsomuchsuffering。
Nevertheless，somethingmustbedone:hemusttrytofindtheman；
stillmoreimportant，hemustseekworkbeforethisdubiousloanwasfurtherencroachedupon。Herestrappedtheportmanteauandreplaceditunderthetable，lockedthedoor，gavethekeytotheofficeclerk，sayingthatanyonewhocalleduponhimwastoawaithisreturn，andsalliedforth。Afreshwindandablueskyofscuddingcloudswereallthatremainedoflastnight’sstorm。Ashemadehiswaytothefatefulwharf，stilldesertedexceptbyanoccasional“wharf-rat，“——asthelongshorevagrantorpettythiefwascalled，——hewonderedathisowntemerityoflastnight，andthetrustfulnessofhisfriendinyieldinguphisportmanteautoastrangerinsuchaplace。Alowdrinkingsaloon，feeblydisguisedasajunkshop，stoodatthecorner，withslimygreenstepsleadingtothewater。
Thewharfwasslowlydecaying，andhereandtherewereoccasionalgapsintheplanking，asdangerousastheonefromwhichhehadescapedthenightbefore。Hethoughtagainofthewarninghemighthavegiventothestranger；buthereflectedthatasaseafaringmanhemusthavebeenfamiliarwiththelocalitywherehehadlanded。Buthadhelandedthere？ToRandolph’sastonishment，therewasnosignortraceofanylateoccupationofthewharf，andtheshipwhosecrossyardshehadseendimlythroughthedarknessthenightbeforewasnolongerthere。Shemighthave“warpedout“
intheearlymorning，buttherewasnotraceofherinthestreamoroffingbeyond。Abarkandbrigquitedismantledatanadjacentwharfseemedtoaccenttheloneliness。Beyond，theopenchannelbetweenhimandVerbaBuenaIslandwasracingwithwhite-manedseasandsparklingintheshiftingsunbeams。Thescuddingcloudsabovehimdrovedownthesteel-bluesky。ThelateensailsoftheItalianfishingboatswerelikeshredsofcloud，too，blownovertheblueanddistantbay。Hisearssang，hiseyesblinked，hispulsesthrobbed，withtheuntiring，fierceactivityofaSanFranciscoday。
Withsomethingofitsrestlessnesshehurriedbacktothehotel。
Stillthestrangerwasnotthere，andnoonehadcalledforhim。
Theroomhadbeenputinorder；theportmanteau，thatsoleconnectinglinkwithhislastnight’sexperience，wasunderthetable。Hedrewitoutagain，andagainsubjectedittoaminuteexamination。Afewtoiletarticles，notofthebestquality，whichhehadoverlookedatfirst，thelinen，thebuckskinpurse，thememorandumbook，andthesuitofclotheshestoodin，stillcomprisedallheknewofhisbenefactor。Hecountedthemoneyinthepurse；itamounted，withtheBankofEnglandnotes，toaboutseventydollars，ashecouldroughlyguess。Therewasascrapofpaper，thetorn-offmarginofanewspaper，lyinginthepurse，withanaddresshastilyscribbledinpencil。Itgave，however，noname，onlyanumber:“85CaliforniaStreet。“Itmightbeaclue。Heputit，withthepurse，carefullyinhispocket，andafterhurriedlypartakingofhisforgottenbreakfast，againstartedout。
Hepresentlyfoundhimselfinthemainthoroughfareoflastnight，whichhenowknewtobeMontgomeryStreet。Itwasmorethrongedthanthen，buthefailedtobeimpressed，asthen，withtheselfishactivityofthecrowd。Yethewashalfconsciousthathisownbrighterfortune，moredecentattire，andsatisfiedhungerhadsomethingtodowiththischange，andheglancedhurriedlyatthedruggist’sbroadplate-glasswindows，withafainthopethattheyounggirlwhoseamusedpityhehadawakenedmightbethereagain。
HefoundCaliforniaStreetquickly，andinafewmomentshestoodbeforeNo。85。Hewasalittledisturbedtofinditaratherlargebuilding，andthatitboretheinscription“Bank。“Thencametheusualshocktohismercurialtemperament，andforthefirsttimehebegantoconsidertheabsurdhopelessnessofhisclue。
He，however，entereddesperately，andapproachingthewindowofthereceivingteller，putthequestionhehadformulatedinhismind:
CouldtheygivehimanyinformationconcerningacustomerorcorrespondentwhohadjustarrivedinSanFranciscoandwasputtingupattheNianticHotel，room74？Hefelthisfaceflushing，but，tohisastonishment，theclerkmanifestednosurprise。“Andyoudon’tknowhisname？“saidtheclerkquietly。“Waitamoment。“Hemovedaway，andRandolphsawhimspeakingtooneoftheotherclerks，whoconsultedalargeregister。Inafewminuteshereturned。“Wedon’thavemanycustomers，“hebeganpolitely，“wholeaveonlytheirhotel-roomaddresses，“whenhewasinterruptedbyamumblingprotestfromoneoftheotherclerks。“That’sverydifferent，“herepliedtohisfellowclerk，andthenturnedtoRandolph。“I’mafraidwecannothelpyou；butI’llmakeotherinquiriesifyou’llcomebackintenminutes。“Satisfiedtoberelievedfromthepresentperilsofhisquestioning，anddoubtfulofreturning，Randolphturnedaway。Butasheleftthebuildinghesawawrittennoticeontheswingingdoor，“Wanted:aNightPorter；“andthisonechanceofemploymentdeterminedhisreturn。
Whenheagainpresentedhimselfatthewindowtheclerkmotionedhimtostepinsidethroughaliftedrail。Herehefoundhimselfconfrontedbytheclerkandanotherman，distinguishedbyacertainairofauthority，akeengrayeye，andsingularlycompressedlipssetinacloselyclippedbeard。Theclerkindicatedhimdeferentiallybutbriefly——everybodywasastonishinglybriefandbusinesslikethere——asthepresident。ThepresidentabsorbedandpossessedRandolphwitheyesthatneverseemedtoleavehim。Thenleaningbackagainstthecounter，whichhelightlygraspedwithbothhands，hesaid:“We’vesenttotheNianticHoteltoinquireaboutyourman。Heorderedhisroombyletter，givingnoname。Hearrivedthereontimelastnight，sleptthere，andhasoccupiedtheroomNo。74eversince。WEdon’tknowhimfromAdam，but“——hiseyesneverleftRandolph’s——“fromthedescriptionthelandlordgaveourclerk，you’rethemanhimself。“
ForaninstantRandolphflushedcrimson。Thenaturalmistakeofthelandlordflasheduponhim，hisownstupidityinseekingthisinformation，thesuspiciouspredicamentinwhichhewasnowplaced，andthenecessityoftellingthewholetruth。Butthepresident’seyewasatonceathreatandaninvitation。Hefelthimselfbecomingsuddenlycool，and，withabusinessbrevityequaltotheirown，said: