eh?" His eyes roved around the room, fastened for an
instant on some of Jimmie Dale's work on an easel, came back finally
to Jimmie Dale--and he plumped himself down in the chair indicated.
"Thought you was more'n a cub reporter," he remarked, with a grin.
"You were too slick with your pencil. Pretty fine studio you got here.
Carruthers says you're going to draw me."

Jimmie Dale smiled--not pleasantly--and leaned suddenly over the desk.

"Yes," he said slowly, a grim intonation in his voice, "going to draw
you--TRUE TO LIFE."

With an exclamation, Clayton slued around in his chair, half rose, and
his shifty eyes, small and cunning, bored into Jimmie Dale's face.

"What d'ye mean by that?" he snapped out

"Just exactly what I say," replied Jimmie Dale curtly. "No more,
no less. But first, not to be too abrupt, I want to join with the
newspapers in congratulating you on the remarkable--shall I call it
celerity, or acumen?--with which you solved the mystery of Metzer's
death, and placed the murderer behind the bars. It is really remarkable,
inspector, so remarkable, in fact, that it's almost--SUSPICIOUS. Don't
you think so? No? Well, that's what Mr. Carruthers was good enough to
bring you up here to talk over--in an intimate and confidential way, you
know."

Inspector Clayton surged up from his chair to his feet, his fists
clenched, the red sweeping over his face--and then he shook one fist at
Carruthers.

"So that's your game, is it!" he stormed. "Trying to crawl out of that
twenty-five thousand reward, eh? And as for you"--he turned on Jimmie
Dale--"you've rigged up a nice little plant between you, eh? Well, it
won't work--and I'll make you squirm for this, both of you, damn you,
before I'm through!" He glared from one to the other for a moment--then
swung on his heel. "Good-afternoon, gentlemen," he sneered, as he
started for the door.

He was halfway across the room before Jimmie Dale spoke.

"Clayton!"

Clayton turned. Jimmie Dale was still leaning over the desk, but now one
elbow was propped upon it, and in the most casual way a revolver covered
Inspector Clayton.

"If you attempt to leave this room," said Jimmie Dale, without raising
his voice, "I assure you that I shall fire with as little compunction as
though I were aiming at a mad dog--and I apologise to all mad dogs for
coupling your name with them." His voice rang suddenly cold. "Come back
here, and sit down in that chair!"

The colour ebbed s