and short-skirted in a summer sport costume, was standing
against the tree with Polter facing her. They were about the same
height. To my youthful imaginative mind rose the fleeting picture of a
young girl in a forest menaced by a gorilla.

I came upon them suddenly. I heard Polter say:

"But I lof you. And you are almos' a woman. Some day you lof me."

He put out his thick hand and gripped her shoulder. She tried to twist
away. She was frightened, but she laughed.

"You--you're crazy!"

He was suddenly holding her in his arms, and she was fighting him. I
dashed forward. Babs was always a spunky sort of girl. In spite of her
fear now, she kept on struggling, and she shouted:

"You--let me go, you--you hunchback!"

He did let her go; but in a frenzy of rage he hauled back his hand and
struck her in the face. I was upon him the next second. I had him down
on the lawn, punching him; but though at seventeen I was a reasonably
husky lad, the hunchback with his thick, hairy gorilla arms proved much
stronger. He heaved me off. The commotion had brought Alan and without
waiting to find out what the trouble was, he jumped on Polter. Between
us, I think we would have beaten him pretty badly. But the housekeeper
summoned Dr. Kent and the fight was over.

Polter left for good within an hour. He did not speak to any of us. But
I saw him as he put his luggage into the taxi which Dr. Kent had
summoned. I was standing silently nearby with Babs and Alan. The look he
flung us as he drove away carried an unmistakable menace--the promise of
vengeance. And I think now that in his warped and twisted mind he was
telling himself that he would some day make Babs regret that she had
repulsed his love.

What happened that night none of us ever knew. Dr. Kent worked late in
his laboratory; he was there when Alan and Babs and the housekeeper went
to bed. He had written a note to Alan; it was found on his desk in a
corner of the laboratory next morning, addressed in care of the family
lawyer to be given Alan in the event of his death. It said very little.
Described a tiny fragment of gold quartz rock the size of a walnut which
would be found under the giant microscope in the laboratory; and told
Alan to give it to the American Scientific Society to be guarded and
watched very carefully.

This note was found, but Dr. Kent had vanished! There had been a
midnight marauder. The laboratory was on the lower floor of the house.
Through one of i