s. Making a note of the telephone number, he paid two
month's rent in advance so as to get the matter off his mind, and
returned to the street. The details of this arrangement had taken
but a short time, so Marsh went up to the men's grill maintained by
a nearby department store, intending to eat a leisurely luncheon in
one of the secluded booths.

As he sat studying the menu, a small finger suddenly began to direct
his attention to certain items, while a soft voice whispered in his
ear, "How do you do, Mr. Marsh?"

In work such as his, startling things were apt to occur at any
moment, so Marsh gave no outward indication of his surprise.

"How do you do," he returned, without looking up, but his mind was
working rapidly to place the voice.

"What are you doing here?" the voice asked.

"You know better than to ask that question, Miss Allen." Marsh now
glanced up with a smile.

The waitress stood up, and to anyone across the room it would have
appeared as if they were merely discussing his order, which she was
writing on a pad.

"If you are still engaged in counterfeiting work," she said, "I may
be able to give you a valuable tip."

"All right," said Marsh, "bring me one of those oyster pies and a
cup of coffee. We'll have a chat when you come back."

In a few minutes she was back with his order and talked rapidly in a
guarded voice as she placed the silver on the table and arranged his
dishes.

"About this time yesterday I had four men at this table and caught
snatches of their conversation. I put the facts together about like
this: There is a house in the suburbs, near Chicago, where a
counterfeiting plant has been in operation. In some way the
attention of the police has been attracted, and the whole outfit is
to be cleaned out as soon as they think they can get away safely. I
have no idea regarding the location, but if you are looking anything
up this may be a hint for you."

"Thanks, Miss Allen. It is a hint."

Without further words, she hurried away to attend to another table.

Marsh knew that the girl who had just given him this information was
a Government operative, like himself. He would have liked to learn
more, if possible, especially descriptions of the men, but he did
not know the nature of the work she was engaged in, and feared that
any further contact between them might be unwise. For a moment he
thought of slipping her his telephone number, but the cautiousness
bred by years of experien