unheeded; the latch was not raised, and only the
slightest tap was heard.

With a bound he reached forward and pulled the door open. Then a
great silence fell upon him and a rigidity as of the grave seized and
stiffened his powerful frame.

The man confronting him from the darkness was Sweetwater.

XXXVI. THE MAN WITHIN AND THE MAN WITHOUT

An instant of silence, during which the two men eyed each other; then,
Sweetwater, with an ironical smile directed towards the pistol lightly
remarked:

"Mr. Challoner and other men at the hotel are acquainted with my purpose
and await my return. I have come--" here he cast a glowing look at
the huge curtain cutting off the greater portion of the illy-lit
interior--"to offer you my services, Mr. Brotherson. I have no other
motive for this intrusion than to be of use. I am deeply interested in
your invention, to the development of which I have already lent some
aid, and can bring to the test you propose a sympathetic help which you
could hardly find in any other person living."

The silence which settled down at the completion of these words had a
weight which made that of the previous moment seem light and all athrob
with sound. The man within had not yet caught his breath; the man
without held his, in an anxiety which had little to do with the
direction of the weapon, into which he looked. Then an owl hooted far
away in the forest, and Orlando, slowly lowering his arm, asked in an
oddly constrained tone:

"How long have you been in town?"

The answer cut clean through any lingering hope he may have had.

"Ever since the day your brother was told the story of his great
misfortune."

"Ah! still at your old tricks! I thought you had quit that business as
unprofitable."

"I don't know. I never expect quick returns. He who holds on for a rise
sometimes reaps unlooked-for profits."

The arm and fist of Orlando Brotherson ached to hurl this fellow back
into the heart of the midnight woods.

But they remained quiescent and he spoke instead. "I have buried the
business. You will never resuscitate it through me."

Sweetwater smiled. There was no mirth in his smile though there was
lightness in his tone as said:

"Then let us go back to the matter in hand. You need a helper; where are
you going to find one if you don't take me?"

A growl from Brotherson's set lips. Never had he looked more dangerous
than in the one burning instant following this daring repetition o