“Iwaslookingforworklastnightonthewharf。Heemployedmetocarryhisbagtothehotel，sayingIwastowaitforhim。Ihavewaitedsincenineo’clocklastnightinhisroom，andhehasnotcome。“
“Whatareyouinsuchad——dhurryfor？He’strustedyou；can’tyoutrusthim？You’vegothisbag？“returnedthepresident。
Randolphwassilentforamoment。“Iwanttoknowwhattodowithit，“hesaid。
“Hangontoit。What’sinit？“
“Someclothesandapursecontainingaboutseventydollars。“
“Thatoughttopayyouforcarryingitandstorageafterward，“saidthepresidentdecisively。“Whatmadeyoucomehere？“
“Ifoundthisaddressinthepurse，“saidRandolph，producingit。
“Isthatall？“
“Yes。“
“Andthat’stheonlyreasonyoucamehere，tofindanownerforthatbag？“
“Yes。“
Thepresidentdisengagedhimselffromthecounter。
“I’msorrytohavegivenyousomuchtrouble，“saidRandolphconcludingly。“Thankyouandgood-morning。“
“Good-morning。“
AsRandolphturnedawayherememberedtheadvertisementforthenightwatchman。Hehesitatedandturnedback。Hewasalittlesurprisedtofindthatthepresidenthadnotgoneaway，butwaslookingafterhim。
“Ibegyourpardon，butIseeyouwantanightwatchman。CouldI
do？“saidRandolphresolutely。
“No。You’reastrangerhere，andwewantsomeonewhoknowsthecity，——Dewslake，“hereturnedtothereceivingteller，“who’stakenLarkin’splace？“
“Nooneyet，“returnedtheteller，“but，“headdedparenthetically，“JudgeBoompointer，youknow，wasspeakingtoyouabouthisson。“
“Yes，Iknowthat。“ToRandolph:“Goroundtomyprivateroomandwaitforme。Iwon’tbeaslongasyourfriendlastnight。“Thenheaddedtoanegroporter，“Showhimroundthere。“
Hemovedaway，stoppingatoneortwodeskstogiveanordertotheclerks，andoncebeforetherailingtospeaktoadepositor。
Randolphfollowedthenegrointothehall，througha“boardroom，“
andintoahandsomelyfurnishedoffice。Hehadnottowaitlong。
Inafewmomentsthepresidentappearedwithanoldermanwhosegraysidewhiskers，cutwithacertainprecision，andwhoseblackandwhitecheckedneckerchief，tiedinaformalbow，proclaimedtheEnglishrespectabilityoftheperiod。Atthepresident’sdictationhetookdownRandolph’sname，nativity，lengthofresidence，andoccupationinCalifornia。Thisconcluded，thepresident，glancingathiscompanion，saidbriefly，——
“Well？“
“Hehadbettercometo-morrowmorningatnine，“wastheanswer。
“AndaskforMr。Dingwall，thedeputymanager，“addedthepresident，withagesturethatwasatonceanintroductionandadismissaltoboth。
RandolphhadheardbeforeofthisstartlingbrevityofSanFranciscobusinessdetail，yethelingereduntilthedoorclosedonMr。Dingwall。Hisheartwashonestlyfull。
“Youhavebeenverykind，sir，“hestammered。
“Ihaven’trunhalftherisksofthatchaplastnight，“saidthepresidentgrimly，theleasttremorofasmileonhissetmouth。
“IfyouwouldonlyletmeknowwhatIcandotothankyou，“
persistedRandolph。
“Trustthemanthattrustsyou，andhangontoyourtrust，“returnedthepresidentcurtly，withapartingnod。
ElatedandfilledwithhighhopesasRandolphwas，hefeltsometrepidationinreturningtohishotel。Hehadtofacehislandlordwithsomeexplanationofthebank’sinquiry。Thelandlordmightconsiderhimanimpostor，andrequesthimtoleave，or，moredreadfulstill，insistuponkeepingthebag。Hethoughtofthepartingwordsofthepresident，andresolvedupon“hangingontohistrust，“whateverhappened。Buthewasagreeablysurprisedtofindthathewasreceivedattheofficewithacertainrespectnotusuallyshowntothecasualvisitor。“Yourcallerturnedupto-
day“——Randolphstarted——“fromtheEurekabank，“continuedtheclerk。“Sorrywecouldnotgiveyourname，butyouknowyouonlyleftadepositinyourletterandsentamessengerforyourkeyyesterdayafternoon。Whenyoucameyouwentstraighttoyourroom。
Perhapsyouwouldliketoregisternow。“Randolphnolongerhesitated，reflectingthathecouldexplainitalllatertohisunknownbenefactor，andwrotehisnameboldly。Buthewasstillmoreastonishedwhentheclerkcontinued:“Ireckonitwasacaseofidentifyingyouforadraft——itoftenhappenshere——andwe’dhavebeengladtodoitforyou。Butthebankclerkseemedsatisfiedwithoutdescriptionofyou——you’reeasilydescribed，youknowthisinaparenthesis，complimentarilyintended——“soit’sallright。Wecangiveyouabetterroomlowerdown，ifyou’regoingtostaylonger。“Notknowingwhethertolaughortobeembarrassedatthisextraordinaryconclusionoftheblunder，Randolphansweredthathehadjustcomefromthebank，adding，withapardonabletouchofyouthfulpride，thathewasenteringthebank’semploymentthenextday。
Anotherequallyagreeablesurprisemethimonhisarrivaltherethenextmorning。Withoutanypreviousexaminationortrialhewasinstalledatonceasacorrespondingclerkintheplaceofonejustpromotedtoasub-agencyintheinterior。Hishandwriting，hisfacilityofcomposition，hadallbeentakenforgranted，orperhapspredicateduponsomethingthepresidenthaddiscernedinthatonequick，absorbingglance。Heventuredtoexpressthethoughttohisneighbor。
“Theboss，“saidthatgentleman，“cansizeamaninandout，andallthrough，inaboutthetimeitwouldtakeyouandmetotellthecolorofhishair。HEdon’tmakemistakes，youbet；butoldDingy——
thedep——yousettledwithyourclothes。“
“Myclothes！“echoedRandolph，withafaintflush。
“Yes，Englishcut——thatfetchedhim。“
Andsohisworkbegan。Hisliberalsalary，whichseemedtohimmunificentincomparisonwithhispreviousearningsinthemines，enabledhimtokeepthecontentsofthebuckskinpurseintact，andpresentlytoreturntheborrowedsuitofclothestotheportmanteau。Themysteriousownershouldfindeverythingaswhenhefirstplaceditinhishands。Withthequickmobilityofyouthandhisownrathermercurialnature，hehadbeguntoforget，orperhapstobealittleashamedofhiskeenemotionsandsufferingsthenightofhisarrival，untilthatnightwasrecalledtohiminasingularway。
OneSundayavaguesenseofdutytohisstillmissingbenefactorimpelledhimtospendpartofhisholidayuponthewharves。Hehadrambledawayamongtheshippingatthenewerpierslips，andhadgazedcuriouslyupondeckswhereafewseamenorofficersintheirSundayapparelsmoked，paced，oridled，tryingvainlytorecognizethefaceandfigurewhichhadoncebrieflyflashedoutundertheflickeringwharflamp。Wasthestrangerashipmasterwhohadsuddenlytransferredhimselftoanothervesselonanothervoyage？
Acrowdwhichhadgatheredaroundsomelandingstepsnearershorepresentlyattractedhisattention。Heloungedtowarditandlookedovertheshouldersofthebystandersdownuponthesteps。Aboatwaslyingthere，whichhadjusttowedinthebodyofamanfoundfloatingonthewater。Itsfeatureswerealreadyswollenanddefacedlikeahideousmask；itsbodydistendedbeyondallproportion，eventotheburstingofitssoddenclothing。A
tremulousfascinationcameoverRandolphashegazed。Thebystandersmadetheirbriefcomments，afewauthoritativelyandwiththeairofnauticalexperts。
“Beeninthewateraboutaweek，Ireckon。“
“’Boutthattime；justruckedupandfloatedwiththetide。“
“Notmuchchanceo’spottin’himbyhislooks，eh？“
“Noranythingelse，youbet。Reg’larlycleanedout。Lookathispockets。“
“Wharf-ratsorshanghaimen？“
“Betwixtandbetween，Ireckon。Manwhofoundhimsayshe’sgotanuglycutjustbackofhishead。Yecan’tseeitforhisfloatinghair。“
“Wonderifhegotitbeforeorafterhegotinthewater。“
“That’sforthecoronertosay。“
“Muchheknowsorcares，“saidanothercynically。“It’lljustbeacaseof’Founddrowned’andtheregulartwenty-fivedollarstoHIM，andfivetothemanwhofoundthebody。That’senoughforhimtoknow。“
Thrilledwithavagueanxiety，Randolphedgedforwardforanearerviewofthewretchedderelictstillgentlyundulatingonthetowline。Thecloserhelookedthemorehewasimpressedbytheideaofsomefrightfulmaskthathidafacethatrefusedtoberecognized。Buthisattentionbecamefixedonamanwhowasgivingsomeadviceorordersandexaminingthebodyscrutinizingly。
Withoutknowingwhy，Randolphfeltasuddenaversiontohim，whichwasdeepenedwhentheman，liftinghishead，metRandolph’seyeswithapairofshiftingyetaggressiveones。Hebore，nevertheless，anodd，weirdlikenesstothemissingmanRandolphwasseeking，whichstrangelytroubledhim。Asthestranger’seyesfollowedhimandlingeredwithasingularcuriosityonRandolph’sdress，herememberedwithasuddenalarmthathewaswearingthesuitofthemissingman。Aquickimpulsetoconcealhimselfcameuponhim，butheasquicklyconqueredit，andreturnedtheman’scoldstarewithanangerhecouldnotaccountfor，butwhichmadethestrangeraverthiseyes。Thenthemangotintotheboatbesidetheboatman，andthetwoagaintowedawaythecorpse。Theheadroseandfellwiththeswell，asifnoddingafarewell。Butitwasstilldefiant，underitsshapelessmask，thatevenworeasmile，asiftriumphantinitshideoussecret。