nt me."

"Make up their minds that you wasn't in that little affair, eh?"

"That's the size of it, Red. Here's my two friends that I brought with
me. Some one you don't know, and they ain't either of them known inside,
either. Do you let them pass?"

"Sure, Curly. I lets them pass, if you say so."

"Come, lads," said Curly, without vouchsafing any further statement to
the guard at the door; and so it was that the way was open for the two
detectives to enter upon the mysteries of that infamous retreat where it
was the proprietor's boast that no police officer had ever appeared
without his own expressed permission.

The big room where the patrons congregated on Sunday night was
comfortably filled when Nick Carter entered it with his two companions.

In all that place there were only two tables unoccupied, and one of
those was almost directly in the centre of the room. Curly led the way
to it at once, and the three seated themselves around it while the bank
burglar sent out his order for the refreshments that were required.

Nick and Chick had made the necessary changes in their appearance; and
each assumed the outward character and general aspect of a person who
would be likely to frequent such a place as Grinnel's.

Nick Carter was always a thorough believer in the maxim that too much
disguise was worse than none at all, and therefore, when the occasion
required that he should assume one, it was his habit to do as little
real disguising as possible, and therefore, with the exception of giving
himself a black eye, and blocking out a couple of his teeth, fixing his
face so that it appeared as though there was a couple days' growth of
beard upon it, and donning a rough-looking costume, he was unchanged.

In a place like Mike Grinnel's no man thought of taking off his hat
unless his head was too warm, and therefore Nick kept his on with the
brim pulled down well over his eyes.

The mere fact that the two detectives were in the company of Curly John
was sufficient voucher for their personalities, and it did not occur to
anybody, not even to Mike Grinnel himself, to question them.

They were there; they were with Curly John; he had brought them, and
that was enough. And, although there were many expressions of welcome
spoken and called out to Curly John when he passed into the room and
took his seat at the table, nobody in all that throng offered to
approach him, for it was an unwritten law of the underworld that a