ered him into a tiny office. There,
behind the desk, sat a girl, and at sight of her, the detective,
master of himself as he was, gave an imperceptible start.

There was nothing remarkable about her; she was quite a common type of
girl: slender, not too tall, with a wealth of red-brown hair, and soft
hazel eyes; yet she reminded Blaine vaguely but insistently of some
one else--some one whom he had encountered in the past.

He recovered himself at once, and presented the card which announced
him as the senior member of the firm of Banks and Frost, architects.

"Whom did you wish to see, sir?" The girl turned slowly about in her
swivel chair and regarded him respectfully but coolly. Her voice was
low and gentle and distinctly feminine, yet it brought to him again
that haunting sense of resemblance which the first vision of her had
caused.

"Miss Lawton," he replied, quietly.

"But Miss Lawton is not here." The girl's surprise was unfeigned.

"I have an appointment to meet her here at this time. She may perhaps
have been detained. She has arranged to go over the club building with
me. As you see by my card, I am an architect and she is planning more
extensive work, I believe, along the lines instituted here--at least
that is the impression she has given my firm. I will wait a short
time, if I may. You are connected with the official work of the
club?"

"I am the secretary." The girl paused and then added, "I understand
perfectly, sir. Will you be seated, please? Miss Lawton had not told
me of her appointment here with you. She will without doubt arrive
shortly."

Henry Blaine seated himself, and as she started to turn back to her
desk, he asked quickly:

"You must find the work here very interesting, do you not? We--our
firm--have erected several philanthropic institutions of learning and
recreation, but none precisely on this order. Miss Lawton has shown us
the plans of this present club and we consider the arrangement of the
dormitories particularly ingenious, with regard to economy of space
and the requisite sunlight and air."

"Oh, yes!" The girl turned toward him swiftly, her face suffused with
interest. "Miss Lawton drew all the plans herself, and they were not
changed in the least. I don't see how they could possibly be improved
upon. Miss Lawton has done splendid work here, sir; the club has been
a wonderful success since it was first opened."

"It must have been." The detective paused, then added eas