I am," retorted Britz.

"Well, if you are through with Mr. Collins, I should like a few minutes
of private conversation with him," said the lawyer.

"I shall refrain from arresting Mr. Collins only on condition that he
remain in custody of one of my men. He may go where he chooses, but only
in the company of a detective."

"And if he refuse your condition?"

"Then I shall be compelled to arrest him."

"And multiply the blunders which you have made in this case!" Luckstone
smiled sarcastically.

"I am responsible for the conduct of this investigation," snapped Britz.
"And let me tell you, Mr. Luckstone, you may think your crafty brain has
succeeded in outwitting the police, but it hasn't. From the outset I
recognized your handiwork in guiding the various persons concerned in
this murder case. You were Whitmore's lawyer! You're Beard's attorney,
you're Mrs. Collins's counsel, you represent Collins, and probably Ward
also."

"Mr. Ward is my client," acknowledged the lawyer.

"You have fortified them all behind a wall of silence," pursued Britz in
even voice. "But the moment I give the signal, the wall will crumble and
your clients will simply fall over one another in their desire to talk."

"I shall be interested to see the wizard's wand with which you're going
to achieve so much!" Luckstone sneered.

"I promise you that pleasure."

Crossing the room, Britz opened a window and nodded to someone who
evidently was waiting in the street. In a few minutes a detective
arrived at the door of the apartment and knocked for admittance. Britz
invited him to enter.

"Collins, this is Detective Hastings," said Britz in introduction. "You
will remain in his custody for the present! Hastings,"--he addressed the
detective--"if this man tries to elude you, arrest him and bring him to
Headquarters."

Britz left the apartment, an exultant gleam in his eye. The long
interview with Collins, even the intervention of Luckstone, had brought
him closer to the final unraveling of the absorbing mystery that had
developed so many amazing complications. As he hastened toward the
subway station, he was fired by a sense of imminent triumph, felt the
first happy thrill of approaching victory.

It was no vain boast in which he had indulged before the crafty
Luckstone. The detective had been following a carefully devised plan
through his investigation, and he was about to reap the fruits of his
industry. The Whitmore case would not tak