”I-Ican’teat，”mumbledSweetwater，foronceinhislifethrowncompletelyoffhisbalance。”You’reverykind，butI’llmanageallright。I’drather。I’mnotquitedressed，yousee，andImustgettotheshop。”Thenhethought-”WhatanopportunityI’mlosing。HaveIanyrighttoturntailbecauseheplayshisgamefromtheoutsetwithtrumps?No，I’veasmalltrumpsomewhereaboutmetolayonthistrick。Itisn’tanace，butit’llshowI’mnotchicane。”
Andsmiling，thoughnotwithhisusualcheerfulness，Sweetwateradded，”Isthecoffeeallmade?Imighttakeadropofthat。Butyoumustn’taskmetoeat-Ijustcouldn’t。””Yes，thecoffeeismadeanditisn’tbadeither。You’dbetterputonyourcoat；thehall’sdraughty。”AndwaitingtillSweetwaterdidso，heledthewaybacktohisownroom。Brotherson’smannerexpressedperfectease，Sweetwater’snot。Heknewhimselfchangedinlooks，inbearing，infeeling，even；butwashechangedenoughtodeceivethismanontheveryspotwheretheyhadconfrontedeachotherafewdaysbeforeinakeenmoralstruggle?Thelooking-glasshepassedonhiswaytothetablewherethesimplebreakfastwasspreadout，showedhimafiguresounlikethealert，business-likechaphehadbeenthatnight，thathefelthisoldassurancereviveintimetoeaseasituationwhichhadnocounterpartinhisexperience。”I’mgoingoutmyselfto-day，sowe’llhavetohurryabit，”wasBrotherson’sfirstremarkastheyseatedthemselvesattable。”Doyoulikeyourcoffeeplainorwithmilkinit?””Plain。Gosh！whatpictures！Wheredoyouget’em?Youmusthavealotofcoin。”Sweetwaterwasstaringattherowofphotographs，mostlyofaveryhighorder，tackedalongthewallseparatingthetworooms。Theywereunframed，buttheyweremostlycopiesofgreatpictures，andtheeffectwasratherimposingincontrasttotheshabbyfurnitureandtheotherwisehomelyfittings。”Yes，I’veenoughforthatkindofthing，”washishost’sreply。
Butthetonewasreserved，andSweetwaterdidnotpresumeagainalongthisline。Instead，helookedwellatthebookspiledupontheshelvesunderthesephotographs，andwonderedaloudattheirnumberandatthemanwhocouldwastesuchalotoftimeinreadingthem。Buthemadenomoredirectremarks。WashecowedbythepenetratingeyeheencounteredwheneverheyieldedtothefascinationexertedbyMr。Brotherson’spersonalityandlookedhisway?Hehatedtothinkso，yetsomethingheldhimincheckandmadehimlisten，open-mouthed，whentheotherchosetospeak。
Yettherewasonecheerfulmoment。Itwaswhenhenoticedthecarelesswayinwhichthosebookswerearrangedupontheirshelves。
Anideahadcometohim。Hehidhisreliefinhiscup，ashedrainedthelastdropsofthecoffeewhichreallytastedbetterthanhehadexpected。
Whenhereturnedfromworkthatafternoonitwaswithanaugerunderhiscoatandaconvictionwhichledhimtoemptyoutthecontentsofasmallphialwhichhetookdownfromashelf。HehadtoldMr。
Grycethathewaseagerforthebusinessbecauseofitsdifficulties，butthatwaswhenhewasfeelingfineanduptoanygamewhichmightcomehisway。Nowhefeltweakandeasilydiscouraged。Thiswouldnotdo。Hemustregainhishealthatallhazards，sohepouredoutthemixturewhichhadgivenhimsuchasicklyair。Thisdoneandarudesuppereaten，hetookuphisauger。HehadheardMr。
Brotherson’sstepgoby。Butnextminutehelaiditdownagainingreathasteandflunganewspaperoverit。Mr。Brothersonwascomingback，hadstoppedathisdoor，hadknockedandmustbeletin。”You’rebetterthisevening，”heheardinthosekindlytoneswhichsoconfusedandirritatedhim。”Yes，”wasthesurlyadmission。”Butit’sstiflinghere。IfIhavetolivelonginthisholeI’lldryupfromwantofair。It’sneartheshoporIwouldn’tstayouttheweek。”TwicethisdayhehadseenBrotherson’stallfigurestopbeforethewindowofthisshopandlookinathimathisbench。Buthesaidnothingaboutthat。”Yes，”agreedtheother，”it’snowaytolive。Butyou’realone。
Upstairsthere’sawholefamilyhuddledintoaroomjustlikethis。
Twoofthekidssleepinthecloset。It’sthingslikethatwhichhavemademethefriendofthepoor，andthemortalenemyofmenandwomenwhospreadthemselvesoveradozenbigroomsandthinkthemselvesill-usedifthegasburnspoorlyorafireplacesmokes。
I’mofffortheevening；anythingIcandoforyou?””ShowmehowIcanwinmywayintosuchroomsasyou’vejusttalkedabout。Nothinglesswillmakemelookup。I’dliketosleepinoneto-night。Inthebestbedroom，sir。I’mambitious；Iam。”
Apoorjoke，thoughtheybothlaughed。ThereMr。Brothersonpassedon，andSweetwaterlistenedtillhewassurethathistooattentiveneighbourhadreallygonedownthethreeflightsbetweenhimandthestreet。Thenhetookuphisaugeragainandshuthimselfupinhiscloset。
Therewasnothingpeculiaraboutthiscloset。Itwasjustanordinaryonewithdrawersandshelvesononeside，andanopenspaceontheotherforthehangingupofclothes。Veryfewclotheshungthereatpresent；butitwasinthisportionoftheclosetthathestoppedandbegantotrythewallofBrotherson’sroom，withthebuttendofthetoolhecarried。
Thesoundseemedtosatisfyhim，forverysoonhewasboringaholeatapointexactlylevelwithhisear；butnotwithoutfrequentpausesandmuchattentiongiventothepossiblereturnofthosedepartedfoot-steps。HerememberedthatMr。Brothersonhadawayofcomingbackonunexpectederrandsaftergivingouthisintentionofbeingabsentforhours。
Sweetwaterdidnotwanttobecaughtinanysuchtrapasthat；sohecarefullyfollowedeverysoundthatreachedhimfromthenoisyhalls。
Buthedidnotforsakehispost；hedidnothaveto。Mr。Brothersonhadbeensincereinhisgood-bye，andtheaugerfinisheditsjobandwaswithdrawnwithoutanyinterruptionfromthemanwhosepremiseshadbeenthusaudaciouslyinvaded。”Neataswellasuseful，”wasthegaycommentwithwhichSweetwatersurveyedhiswork，thenlaidhiseartothehole。Whereaspreviouslyhecouldbarelyheartherattlingofcoalsfromthecoal-scuttle，hewasnowabletocatchthesoundofanashfallingintotheash-pit。
Hisnextmovewastotestthedepthofthepartitionbyinsertinghisfingerintheholehehadmade。Hefounditstoppedbysomeobstaclebeforeithadreachedhalfitslength，andanxioustosatisfyhimselfofthenatureofthisobstacle，hegentlymovedthetipofhisfingertoandfrooverwhatwascertainlytheedgeofabook。
Thisprovedthathiscalculationshadbeencorrectandthattheopeningsoaccessibleonhisside，wascompletelyveiledontheotherbythebookshehadseenpackedontheshelves。Astheseshelveshadnootherbackingthanthewall，hehadfearedstrikingaspotnotcoveredbyabook。Buthehadnotundertakensoriskyapieceofworkwithoutfirstnotinghownearlythetopsofthebooksapproachedthelineoftheshelfabovethem，andtheconsequentunlikelihoodofhisstrikingthespacebetween，attheheightheplannedthehole。Hehadevenbeencarefultoassurehimselfthatallthevolumesatthisexactpointstoodfarenoughforwardtoaffordroombehindthemforthechipsandplasterhemustnecessarilypushthroughwithhisauger，andalso-importantconsideration-forthefreepassageofthesoundsbywhichhehopedtoprofit。
Ashelistenedforamomentlonger，andthenstoopedtogatherupthedebriswhichhadfallenonhisownsideofthepartition，hemuttered，inhisoldself-congratulatoryway：”Ifthedevildon’tinterfereinsomewaybestknowntohimself，thisopportunityIhavemadeformyselfoflisteningtothisarrogantfellow’sveryheartbeatsshouldgivemesomeclewtohissecret。
AssoonasIcanstandit，I’llspendmyeveningsatthishole。”
Butitwasdaysbeforehecouldtrusthimselfsofar。Meanwhiletheiracquaintanceripened，thoughwithnoverysatisfactoryresults。
Thedetectivefoundhimselfledintotellingstoriesofhisearlyhome-lifetokeeppacewiththemanwhoalwayshadsomethingofmomentandsolidinteresttoimpart。Thiswasundesirable，forinsteadofcallingoutacorrespondingconfidencefromBrotherson，itonlyseemedtomakehisconversationmorecoldlyimpersonal。
Inconsequence，Sweetwatersuddenlyfoundhimselfquitewellandoneevening，whenhewassurethathisneighbourwasathome，heslidsoftlyintohisclosetandlaidhiseartotheopeninghehadmadethere。Theresultwasunexpected。Mr。Brothersonwaspacingthefloor，andtalkingsoftlytohimself。
Atfirst，thecadenceandfullmusicofthetonesconveyednothingtoourfarfromliterarydetective。Thevictimofhissecretmachinationswasexpressinghimselfinwords，words；-thatwasthepointwhichcountedwithhim。Butashelistenedlongerandgraduallytookinthesenseofthesewords，hisheartwentdownlowerandlowertillitreachedhisboots。Hisinscrutableandeverdisappointingneighbourwasnotindulginginself-communingsofanykind。Hewasrecitingpoetry，andwhatwasworse，poetrywhichheonlyhalfrememberedandwastryingtorecall；-anincredibleoccupationforamanweightedwithacriminalsecret。
Sweetwaterwasdisgusted，andwaswithdrawinginhighindignationfromhisvantage-pointwhensomethingoccurredofastartlingenoughnaturetoholdhimwherehewasinalmostbreathlessexpectation。
Theholewhichinthedarknessoftheclosetwasalwaysfaintlyvisible，evenwhenthelightwasnotverystrongintheadjoiningroom，hadsuddenlybecomeabrightandshiningloop-hole，withasuggestionofmovementinthespacebeyond。ThebookwhichhadhidthisholeonBrotherson’ssidehadbeentakendown-theonebookinallthosehundredswhoseremovalthreatenedSweetwater’sschemes，ifnothimself。
ForaninstantthethwarteddetectivelistenedfortheangryshoutorthesmotheredoathwhichwouldnaturallyfollowthediscoverybyBrothersonofthisattemptedinterferencewithhisprivacy。
Butallwasstillonhissideofthewall。Arustlingofleavescouldbeheard，astheinventorsearchedforthepoemhewanted，butnothingmore。Inwithdrawingthebook，hehadfailedtonoticetheholeintheplasterbackofit。Buthecouldhardlyfailtoseeitwhenhecametoputthebookback。Meantime，suspenseforSweetwater。
ItwasseveralminutesbeforeheheardMr。Brotherson’svoiceagain，thenitwasintriumphantrepetitionofthelineswhichhadescapedhismemory。TheyweregreatwordssurelyandSweetwaterneverforgotthem，buttheimpressionwhichtheymadeuponhismind，animpressionsoforciblethathewasabletorepeatthem，monthsafterwardtoMr。Gryce，didnotpreventhimfromnotingthetoneinwhichtheywereuttered，northethudwhichfollowedasthebookwasthrowndownuponthefloor。