d not be found, for he had been at
home and in bed for a good two hours. Clearly, then, he knew something
of the pin; and Peterkin and his wife said good-night, resolving to see
the boy the first thing in the morning, and demand their property.

When the Peterkins were gone, Arthur started at once for his room, but
stopped at the foot of the stairs and said to his brother:

'Don't forget to have the carriage at the station at seven o'clock.
Gretchen is sure to be there.'

'All right,' was Frank's reply.

While Mrs. Tracy asked:

'Who is Gretchen?'

If Arthur heard her he made no reply, but kept on up the stairs to his
room, where they heard him for a long time walking about, opening and
shutting windows, locking and unlocking trunks, and occasionally
splashing water over his face and hands.

'Your brother is a very elegant-looking man,' Mrs. Tracy said to her
husband as she was preparing to retire. 'Quite like a foreigner, but how
bright his eyes are, and they look at you sometimes as if they would
see through you and know what you were thinking. They almost make me
afraid of him.'

Frank made no direct reply. In his heart there was an undefined fear
which he then could not put into words, and with the remark that he was
very tired, he stepped into bed, and was just falling into a quiet sleep
when there came a knock upon his door loud enough, it seemed to him, to
waken the dead. Starting up he demanded who was there and what was
wanted.

'It is I,' Arthur said. 'I thought I smelled gas, and I have been
hunting round for it. There is nothing worse to breathe than gas,
whether from the furnace, the pipes, or the drain. I hope that is all
right.'

'Yes,' Frank answered, a little crossly. 'Had a new one put in two weeks
ago.'

'If there's gas in the main sewer it will come up just the same, and I
am sure I smell it,' Arthur said. 'I think I shall have all the
waste-pipes which connect with the drain cut off. Good-night. Am sorry I
disturbed you.'

They heard him as he went across the hall to his room, and Frank was
settling down again to sleep when there came a second knock, and Arthur
said, in a whisper:

'I hope I do not trouble you, but I have decided to go myself to the
station to meet Gretchen. She is very timid, and does not speak much
English. Good-night once more, and pleasant dreams.'

To sleep now was impossible, and both husband and wife turned restlessly
on their pillows, Frank wondering what