oint.
With him it is a tragic, mysterious horror, which threatens the
well-being, if not the existence, of a life that is dearer to him than
his own."

"I'll look after him," said Dennis, with a grim determination which
made even Garnesk laugh.

"When you two precious people have finished nursing me," I said, "I
hope you'll allow me to point out that that very reason gives me a
prior claim to take any risks or run into any dangers that may crop up
from now on. If there is any trouble brewing, particularly dangerous
trouble, then it is my place to tackle it. I am deeply grateful to you
fellows for all you have done and are doing and intend to do, but the
nursing comes from the other side. I can't let you run risks in a
cause which is more mine in the nature of things than yours."

"I fancy," said Dennis, "that even your eloquent speeches will have
very little effect when it comes to real trouble. If danger comes
it'll come suddenly, and we shall be best helping our common cause by
looking after ourselves."

"Hear, hear," said Garnesk, and I could only mutter my thanks and my
gratitude for the possession of two staunch friends.

"To get back to business," I said presently, "why did you want me to
bluff Hilderman like that?"

"Because," said Garnesk slowly, "I'm not sure that Hilderman is the
man to take into our confidence too completely. It's not that I don't
trust the man, but he looks so alert and so cute, and has such a
dreamy way of pretending he isn't listening to you when you know jolly
well that he is, that I have a feeling we ought to be careful with
him."

"Very much what Dennis said about him the first time he saw him. But
if you don't suspect him, and he is a very cute man, why not trust him
and have the benefit of his intelligence?"

"How would you answer that question yourself, Ewart?" the specialist
asked quietly.

"Oh," I laughed, "I should point out that his cuteness may be the very
reason that we don't suspect him."

"Precisely," Garnesk agreed; "and that is partly my answer as well."

"And the other part?" put in Dennis quietly.

"Well, it's a difficult thing to say, and it's all conjecture. But
I have a feeling that Hilderman is not what he says he is. He has
a knack of doing things, a way of going about here, that gives me
the impression he is employing his intelligence, and a very fine
intelligence it probably is, all the time. I don't think he is retired
at all. There's a restless e