f
them all--had the precise narrowness and rigidity of Madame Duclos'; and
after many painful minutes of renewed effort followed by renewed
disappointment he moved back from the window and sat down. There was one
thing you could always count on in Mr. Gryce, and that was his patience.

But it was a patience not without its breaks. Once he rose to look out
front to make sure he had not miscalculated the distance of this factory
from the river. Then after another period of waiting, he got thinking how
much he might discover if he could get one glimpse into that far corner
contiguous to that end of the rectangle where he had seen so many raw
workers receiving the assistance of the night superintendent. There was a
way of doing this of which he had not thought before. He had but to step
outside, walk the length of the platform where the loading of shipments
was going on, and look in at one of the great windows at the further end.
But when he came to make the attempt, he found himself plunged into such
a turmoil and the way so blocked by the loading of boxes and the backing
up and driving off of horses that he retreated precipitately. Rather than
encounter all this, he would await events from the inside. So he took his
old seat again and for another half-hour listened to the thump of
machinery and the squeak of a rusty elevator-brake which almost robbed
him of thought. He was even inclined to doze, when he suddenly became
aware of some change either in himself or in what lay about him.

Had the machinery stopped? No, it was not that.

The place seemed darker, yet it was still very light.

With a restless move, he rose heavily and peered again into the court.
Immediately it was evident what had occurred. The whole string of lights
in the third story had been shut off, and now those of the middle story
were following suit. Only the ground floor remained active with all its
lights at the maximum, and every belt moving.

At this unexpected narrowing down of his field of operations he felt
greatly relieved. He had dreaded those long walks through innumerable
rooms. He could manage circling the building once, but three times would
have been too much. In a mood of increased contentment, he started to
return to his seat, but found himself stayed by something he saw in what
had been but a dimly lighted space when he looked there last. It was now
as bright as the rest and showed him the figure of the superintendent
stooping over a