!" said the Bald Impostor hoarsely. "Exactly."

"In that case," said Mr. Gubb, "I consider it a high compliment for
you to call upon me. Us deteckatives don't usually visit around in
disguises."

The visitor moistened his lips again.

"I wanted to see," he said, but the words were so hoarse they could
hardly be heard,--"I wanted to see--"

"Well, now," said Philo Gubb contritely, "you mustn't feel bad that I
didn't take you for that fraud feller right away off. I hadn't read
the letter through down to the description quite. If I had I would
have mistook you for him at once. The resemblance is most remarkably
unique."

"Thank you!" said the Bald Impostor, regaining more of his usual
confidence. "And it was a hard disguise for me to assume. I'm not
naturally reddish like this. My hair is long. And black. And--and my
taste in clothes is quiet--mostly blacks or dark blues. Now the reason
I am in this disguise--"

He was interrupted by a loud and strenuous knock on the door.

Mr. Gubb went to the door, but before he reached it his visitor had
made one leap and was hidden behind the office desk, for a voice had
called, impatiently, "Gubb!" and it was the voice of Judge Orley
Morvis. When Detective Gubb had greeted his new visitor he turned to
introduce the Judge--and a look of blank surprise swept his features.
Detective Burns was gone!

For a moment only, Detective Gubb was puzzled. There was but one place
in the room capable of concealing a full-grown human being, and that
was the space behind the desk. He placed a chair for the Judge exactly
in front of the desk and himself stood in a negligent attitude with
one elbow on the top of the desk. In this position he was able to turn
his head and, by craning his neck a little, look down upon the false
Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns made violent gestures, urging secrecy. Mr. Gubb
allayed his fears.

"I'm glad you come just now, Judge," he said, "because we can say a
few or more words together, there being nobody here but you and me. I
presume you come to talk about the per diem charge I charged to you,
didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," said the Judge.

"Well, I'll be able to prove quite presently or sooner that the price
is correctly O.K.," said Mr. Gubb, "because the leading head of the
Rising Sun Deteckative Agency is right in town to-day, and as soon as
he gets done with a job he has on hand he's going up to see you. Maybe
you've heard of Allwood Burns. He wrote the 'Twelve Cor