lope he had given
me when he had called. For a reason of my own, I had not banked the note
it contained.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kitwater," I said, speaking as calmly as I could, "but
there seems to be a little misunderstanding. I have not sold you, and I
have not gone over to the enemy. There is the money you gave me, and I
will not charge you anything for the little trouble I have been put to.
That should convince you of my integrity. Now perhaps you will leave my
office, and let me wash my hands of the whole affair."

I noticed that little Codd placed his hand upon the other's arm. It
travelled down until their hands met. I saw that the blind man was
making an effort to recover his composure, and I felt sure that he
regretted ever having lost it. A moment later Codd came across the room
to my table, and, taking up a piece of paper, wrote upon it the
following words--

"Kitwater is sorry, I am sure. Try to forgive him. Remember what he has
suffered through Hayle."

The simplicity of the message touched me.

"Pray sit down a minute, Mr. Kitwater," I said, "and let me put myself
right with you. It is only natural that you should get angry, if you
think I have treated you as you said just now. However, that does not
happen to be the case. I can assure you that had I known who Hayle was,
I should have taken very good care that he did not leave this office
until you had had an interview with him. Unfortunately, however, I was
not aware of his identity. I have encountered some bold criminals in my
time. But I do not know that I have ever had a more daring one than the
man who treated you so badly."

I thereupon proceeded to give him a rough outline of Hayle's interview
with myself, and his subsequent treatment of me. Both men listened with
rapt attention.

"That is Hayle all over," said Kitwater when I had finished. "It is not
his fault that you are not a dead man now. He will evade us if he
possibly can. The story of the roughs you have just told us shows that
he is aware that you are on the trail, and, if I know him at all, he
will try the old dodge, and put running water between you and himself as
soon as possible. As I said to you the other day, he knows the world as
well as you know London, and, in spite of what people say, there are
still plenty of places left in it where he can hide and we shall never
find him. With the money he stole from us he can make himself as
comfortable as he pleases wherever he may happen t