”Fool！”Thewordrangoutinbitterironyfromhisirateneighbour’slips。”Whatdoesheknowofwoman！Woman！Lethimcourtarichoneandsee-butthat’salloveranddonewith。Nomoreharpingonthatstring，andnomorereadingofpoetry。I’llnever，-”Therestwaslostinhisthroatandwasquiteunintelligibletotheanxiouslistener。Self-revealingwords，whichaninstantbeforewouldhavearousedSweetwater’sdeepestinterest！Buttheyhadsuddenlylostallforcefortheunhappylistener。Thesightofthatholestillshiningbrightlybeforehiseyeshaddistractedhisthoughtsandrousedhisliveliestapprehensions。Ifthatbookshouldbeallowedtoliewhereithadfallen，thenhewasinforaperiodofuncertaintyheshrankfromcontemplating。Anymomenthisneighbourmightlookupandcatchsightofthisholeboredinthebackingoftheshelvesbeforehim。Couldthemanwhohadbeenguiltyofsubmittinghimtothisoutragestandthestrainofwaitingindefinitelyforthemomentofdiscovery?Hedoubtedit，ifthesuspenselastedtoolong。
Shiftinghisposition，heplacedhiseyewherehisearhadbeen。
Hecouldseeverylittle。Thespacebeforehim，limitedasitwastothewidthoftheonevolumewithdrawn，precludedhisseeingaughtbutwhatlaydirectlybeforehim。Happily，itwasinthisnarrowlineofvisionthatMr。Brothersonstood。Hehadresumedworkuponhismodelandwassoplacedthatwhilehisfacewasnotvisible，hishandswere，andasSweetwaterwatchedthesehandsandnoticedthedelicacyoftheirmanipulation，hewasenoughofaworkmantorealisethatworksofinecalledforanundividedattention。Heneednotfearthegazeshifting，whilethosehandsmovedaswarilyastheydidnow。
Relievedforthemoment，helefthispostand，sittingdownontheedgeofhiscot，gavehimselfuptothought。
Hedeservedthismischance。HadheprofitedproperlybyMr。Gryce’steachings，hewouldnothavebeencaughtlikethis；hewouldhavecalculatednotupontheninehundredandninety-ninechancesofthatbookbeingleftalone，butuponthethousandthoneofitsbeingtheveryonetobesingledoutandremoved。Hadhedonethis，-hadhetakenpainstosoroughenanddiscolourtheopeninghehadmade，thatitwouldlooklikeanancientratholeinsteadofshowingacleanbore，hewouldhavesomeanswertogiveBrothersonwhenhecametoquestionhiminregardtoit。Butnowthewholethingseemedup！HehadshownhimselfafoolandbygoodrightsoughttoacknowledgehisdefeatandreturntoHeadquarters。Buthehadtoomuchspiritforthat。Hewouldrather-yes，hewouldratherfacethepistolhehadonceseeninhisenemy’shand。Yetitwashardtositherewaiting，waiting-Suddenlyhestartedupright。
Hewouldgomeethisfate-bepresentintheroomitselfwhenthediscoverywasmadewhichthreatenedtoupsetallhisplans。Hewasnotashamedofhiscalling，andBrothersonwouldthinktwicebeforeattackinghimwhenonceconvincedthathehadtheDepartmentbehindhim。”Excuseme，comrade，”werethewordswithwhichheendeavouredtoaccountforhispresenceatBrotherson’sdoor。”Mylampsmellsso，andI’vemadesuchamessofmyworkto-daythatI’vejuststeppedinforachat。IfI’mnotwanted，sayso。Idon’twanttobotheryou，butyoudolookpleasanthere。IhopethethingI’mturningoverinmyhead-everymanhashisschemesformakingafortune，youknow-willbeasuccesssomeday。I’dlikeabigroomlikethis，andalotofbooks，and-andpictures。”
Craninghisneck，hetookapeepattheshelves，withanairofopenadmirationwhicheffectuallyconcealedhisrealpurpose。Whathewantedwastocatchoneglimpseofthatemptyspacefromhispresentstandpoint，andhewasbothastonishedandrelievedtonotehownarrowandinconspicuousitlooked。Certainly，hehadlesstofearthanhesupposed，andwhen，uponMr。Brotherson’sinvitation，hesteppedintotheroom，itwaswithadashofhisformeraudacity，whichgavehim，unfortunately，perhaps，aquick，strongandunexpectedlikenesstohisoldself。
ButifBrothersonnoticedthis，nothinginhismannergaveproofofthefact。Thoughusuallyaversetovisitors，especiallywhenemployedasatpresentonhispreciousmodel，hequitewarmedtowardshisunexpectedguest，andevenledthewaytowhereitstooduncoveredonthetable。”Youfindmeatwork，”heremarked。”Idon’tsupposeyouunderstandanybutyourown?””IfyoumeantoaskifIunderstandwhatyou’retryingtodothere，I’mfreetosaythatIdon’t。Icouldn’ttellnow，off-hand，whetherit’sanair-shipyou’replanning，ahydraulicmachineor-or-Hestopped，withalaughandturnedtowardsthebook-shelves。”Nowhere’swhatIlike。Thesebooksjusttakemyeye。”Lookatthem，then。Iliketoseeamaninterestedinbooks。Only，Ithoughtifyouknewhowtohandlewire，IwouldgetyoutoholdthisendwhileIworkwiththeother。””IguessIknowenoughforthat，”wasSweetwater’sgayrejoinder。
Butwhenhefeltthatcommunicatingwireinhishandandexperiencedforthefirsttimethefullinfluenceoftheother’seye，ittookallhishardihoodtohidethehypnoticthrillitgavehim。Thoughhesmiledandchatted，hecouldnothelpaskinghimselfbetweenwhiles，whathadkilledthepoorwasherwomanacrossthecourt，andwhathadkilledMissChalloner。Somethingvisibleorsomethinginvisible?Somethingwhichgavewarningofattack，orsomethingwhichstruckinsilence。Hefoundhimselfgazinglongandearnestlyatthisman’shand，andwonderingifdeathlayunderit。Itwasastronghand，adeft，clean-cutmember，formedtorespondtotheslightesthintfromthepowerfulbraincontrollingit。Butwasthisitswholestory。Hadhesaidallwhenhehadsaidthis?
Fascinatedbythequestion，Sweetwaterdiedahundreddeathsinhisawakenedfancy，ashefollowedthesharpshortinstructionswhichfellwithcoolprecisionfromtheother’slips。Ahundreddeaths，Isay，butwithnobetrayalofhisfolly。Theanxietyheshowedwasthatofoneeagertoplease，whichmayexplainwhyontheconclusionofhistask，Mr。Brothersongavehimoneofhisinfrequentsmilesandremarked，asheburiedthemodelunderitscover，”You’rehandyandyou’requietatyourjob。WhoknowsbutthatIshallwantyouagain。WillyoucomeifIcallyou?””Won’tI?”wasthegayretort，asthedetectivethusreleased，stoopedforthebookstilllyingonthefloor。”PaoloandFrancesca，”
heread，fromtheback，ashelaiditonthetable。”Poetry?”hequeried。”Rot，”scornfullyreturnedtheother，ashemovedtotakedownabottleandsomeglassesfromacupboardletintoanotherportionofthewall。
Sweetwatertakingadvantageofthemoment，sidledtowardstheshelfwherethatemptyspacestillgapedwiththetell-taleholeattheback。HecouldeasilyhavereplacedthemissingbookbeforeMr。
Brothersonturned。Buttheissuewastoodoubtful。Hewasdealingwithnoabsent-mindedfool，anditbehoovedhimtoavoidaboveallthingscallingattentiontothebookortotheplaceontheshelfwhereitbelonged。
Buttherewasonethinghecoulddoanddid。ReachingoutafingerasdeftasBrotherson’sown，hepushedasecondvolumeintotheplaceoftheonethatwasgone。Thisveiledtheauger-holecompletely；afactwhichsoentirelyrelievedhismindthathisoldsmilecamebacklikesunshinetohislips，anditwasonlybyadistincteffortthathekeptthedancinghumourfromhiseyesashepreparedtorefusetheglasswhichBrothersonnowbroughtforward：”Noneofthat！”saidhe。”Youmustn’ttemptme。Thedoctorhasshutdownonallkindsofspiritsfortwomonthsmore，atleast。
Butdon’tletmehinderyou。Icanbeartosmellthestuff。Myturnwillcomeagainsomeday。”
ButBrothersondidnotdrink。Settingdowntheglasshecarried，hetookupthebooklyingnear，weigheditinhishandandlaiditdownagain，withanairofthoughtfulinquiry。ThenhesuddenlypushedittowardsSweetwater。”Doyouwantit?”heasked。
Sweetwaterwastootakenabacktoanswerimmediately。Thiswasamovehedidnotunderstand。Wantit，he?Whathewantedwastoseeitputbackinitsplaceontheshelf。DidBrothersonsuspectthis?Thesuppositionwasincredible；yetwhocouldreadamindsomysterious?
Sweetwater，debatingthesubject，decidedthattheriskofaddingtoanysuchpossiblesuspicionwaslesstobedreadedthanthecontinuedthreatofferedbythatunoccupiedspacesoneartheholewhichtestifiedsounmistakablyofthemeanshehadtakentospyuponthissuspectedman’sprivacy。So，afteramomentofawkwardsilence，notoutofkeepingwiththecharacterhehadassumed，hecalmlyrefusedthepresentashehadtheglass。
Unhappilyhewasnotrewardedbyseeingthedespisedvolumerestoredtoitsshelf。Itstilllaywhereitsownerhadpushedit，when，withsomeawkwardlymutteredthanks，thediscomfiteddetectivewithdrewtohisownroom。
XVIII
WHATAMITODONOW
EarlymorningsawSweetwaterpeeringintothedepthsofhiscloset。
Theholewashardlyvisible。Thismeantthatthebookhehadpushedacrossitfromtheothersidehadnotbeenremoved。
Greatlyre-assuredbythesight，heawaitedhisopportunity，andassoonasasuitableonepresenteditself，preparedtheholeforinspectionbybreakingawayitsedgesandbegrimingitwellwithplasterandolddirt。Thisdone，heleftmatterstoarrangethemselves；whichtheydid，afterthismanner。
Mr。Brothersonsuddenlydevelopedagreatneedofhim，anditbecameacommonthingforhimtospendthehalfand，sometimes，thewholeoftheeveningintheneighbouringroom。Thiswasjustwhathehadworkedfor，andhisconstantintercoursewiththemanwhosesecrethesoughttosurpriseshouldhavebornefruit。Butitdidnot。
Nothingintheeagerbutpainstakinginventorshowedadistractedmindoraheavily-burdenedsoul。Indeed，hewassocalminallhisways，sopreciseandsoself-contained，thatSweetwateroftenwonderedwhathadbecomeofthefieryagitatorandeloquentpropagandistofnewandstartlingdoctrines。
Then，hethoughtheunderstoodtheriddle。Themodelwasreachingitscompletion，andBrotherson’sextremeinterestinitandtheconfidencehehadinitssuccessswallowedtipalllesseremotions。
Weretheinventiontoproveafailure-buttherewassmallhopeofthis。Themanwasoftoowell-poisedamindtoover-estimatehisworkormiscalculateitsplaceamongmodernimprovements。Soonhewouldreachthegoalofhisdesires，bepraised，feted，mademuchofbytheverypeoplehenowprofessedlyscorned。TherewasnothoroughfareforSweetwaterhere。Anotherroadmustbefound；somesecret，strangeandunforeseenmethodofreachingasoulinaccessibletoallordinaryorevenextraordinaryimpressions。
Wouldanightofthoughtrevealsuchamethod?Night！theverywordbroughtinspiration。Amanisnothisfullselfatnight。
Secretswhich，undertheordinarycircumstancesofeverydaylife，lietoodeepforsurprise，creepfromtheirhiding-placesinthedismalhoursofuniversalquiet，andlipswhicharedumbtothemostsubtleofquestionersbreakintostrangeandself-revealingmutteringswhensleepliesheavyonearandeyeandtheforcesoflifeanddeatharereleasedtoplaywiththerudderlessspirit。
ItwasindifferentwordsfromthesethatSweetwaterreasoned，nodoubt，buthisconclusionswerethesame，andashecontinuedtobroodoverthem，hesawachance-afool’schance，possibly，butfoolssometimeswinwherewisemenfailofreachingthosedepthshestillbelievedin，notwithstandinghisfailuretosoundthem。
AddressingalettertohisfriendinTwenty-ninthStreet，heawaitedreplyintheshapeofasmallpackagehehadorderedsenttothecornerdrug-store。Whenitcame，hecarriedithomeinastateofmingledhopeandmisgiving。Washeabouttocaphisfortnightofdisappointmentbyanothersignalfailure；endthematterbydisclosinghishand；loseall，orwinallbyanexperimentasdaringandpossiblyasfancifulaswerehiscontinuedsuspicionsofthisseeminglyuprightandundoubtedlybusyman?
Hemadenoattempttoarguethequestion。Theeventcalledfortheexerciseofthemostdoggedelementsinhischaracteranduponthesehemustrely。Hewouldmaketheefforthecontemplated，simplybecausehewasmindedtodoso。Thatwasalltherewastoit。Butanyonenotinghimwellthatnight，wouldhaveseenthatheatelittleandconsultedhiswatchcontinually。Sweetwaterhadnotyetpassedthelinewhereworkbecomesroutineandthefeelingsremaintotallyundercontrol。