. Cavenaugh stopped short and stared into his
hallway. "Now how in the devil--!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Someone waiting for you? Oh, no, thanks. I wasn't coming in. I have
to work to-night. Thank you, but I couldn't." Eastman nodded and
went up the two flights to his own rooms.

Though Eastman did not customarily keep a servant he had this winter
a man who had been lent to him by a friend who was abroad. Rollins
met him at the door and took his coat and hat.

"Put out my dinner clothes, Rollins, and then get out of here until
ten o'clock. I've promised to go to a supper to-night. I shan't be
dining. I've had a late tea and I'm going to work until ten. You may
put out some kumiss and biscuit for me."

Rollins took himself off, and Eastman settled down at the big table
in his sitting-room. He had to read a lot of letters submitted as
evidence in a breach of contract case, and before he got very far he
found that long paragraphs in some of the letters were written in
German. He had a German dictionary at his office, but none here.
Rollins had gone, and anyhow, the bookstores would be closed. He
remembered having seen a row of dictionaries on the lower shelf of
one of Cavenaugh's bookcases. Cavenaugh had a lot of books, though
he never read anything but new stuff. Eastman prudently turned down
his student's lamp very low--the thing had an evil habit of
smoking--and went down two flights to Cavenaugh's door.

The young man himself answered Eastman's ring. He was freshly
dressed for the evening, except for a brown smoking jacket, and his
yellow hair had been brushed until it shone. He hesitated as he
confronted his caller, still holding the door knob, and his round
eyes and smooth forehead made their best imitation of a frown. When
Eastman began to apologize, Cavenaugh's manner suddenly changed. He
caught his arm and jerked him into the narrow hall. "Come in, come
in. Right along!" he said excitedly. "Right along," he repeated as
he pushed Eastman before him into his sitting-room. "Well I'll--" he
stopped short at the door and looked about his own room with an air
of complete mystification. The back window was wide open and a
strong wind was blowing in. Cavenaugh walked over to the window and
stuck out his head, looking up and down the fire escape. When he
pulled his head in, he drew down the sash.

"I had a visitor I wanted you to see," he explained with a nervous
smile. "At least I thought I had. He must have gone o