e affairs of the
bankrupt firm had been adjusted the creditors might receive even less
than twenty cents on the dollar.

Mr. Graylock went about looking quite forlorn, as a man whose business
was ruined might be expected to appear; but once when he was passing
out of the bank Dick, watching closely, felt sure that he saw a little
sneer pass over his angular face, as though some sudden thought had
pleased him.

Dick was treated with the utmost kindness by every one for all knew the
story of the fire, and Pliny never ceased to deplore the wretched fate
that seemed to debar him from playing so heroic a role.

When he could do so Dick sought out the teller, for he was anxious to
know whether Mr. Cheever was at work, even though unseen by those in the
bank.

"What news?" he asked in a low tone, stopping by Mr. Winslow's desk as
if waiting for some document to place in the vault.

The other glanced hastily around before replying.

"Nothing as yet, but I saw _him_ last night, and he gave me reason to
believe he might have something to show for his work to-day," he replied
in a low tone.

Dick understood what this meant.

Mr. Cheever had been prowling around the Graylock home, and believed he
saw a way to effect an entrance during the absence of the owner, whose
habits he had carefully studied.

Would he be able to discover anything there?

Might not Mr. Graylock, granting that he was guilty of abstracting those
securities with the intention of defrauding his creditors out of their
just dues, be cunning enough to conceal them where no one would think
of looking?

He advanced this theory to the teller in a whisper.

Mr. Winslow smiled encouragingly.

"You don't know our friend as well as I do, Dick. He is a wonderfully
gifted man for prying into secret places, and seems to know just by
intuition where one would be apt to hide anything. Don't worry about
him. If he gets in he'll rummage that house from top to bottom, and ten
to one there'll be something doing, too. I'm expecting to see him
walking through that door at any minute now, and passing back into the
president's room."

Dick moved away, for the bookkeeper was approaching, with a look of
concern on his face.

"Say, Winslow, do you know, the porter was telling me just now that he
believes he saw that bank examiner in town last night. I told him he
must have been mistaken, but he vowed he was positive. Now, what do you
suppose that fellow has come back