hen he had gone George Deaves hemmed and hawed, gazed at the ceiling,
made scratches on his desk pad and beat all around the bush. The gist
of it as finally extracted by Evan was something as follows:

"I am not paying you all this money as a simple attendant for papa. I
could get two at the price. The fact is papa has an unfortunate
faculty for getting involved in street disputes. On account of his
prominence a certain publicity is attached to it. Very distressing to
the family. I shall expect you to keep him out of such troubles. You
will have to be firm. He is very obstinate. But I authorise you to
take any measures, any measures to save him from his own folly."

Evan was tempted to ask: "Even to cracking him on the bean?" But
instead he said demurely: "I quite understand."

Evan made his way home down the Avenue ruminating upon what had
happened. "In the words of Alfred it's a rummy joint," he said to
himself. "Father and son are a pair of birds. What do I care? I'm
not going to let them get under my skin. I'll give them their money's
worth for a month or so, then bid them ta-ta and hike to the blessed
country on my savings. Meanwhile the affair has its humorous side.
Mystery, too. Like a play."

If Evan had not recollected when he got to Thirtieth street that he
needed certain small articles of apparel to make himself presentable in
his new job, he would probably not have discovered that he was being
followed. But as he retraced his steps to the shops his attention was
caught by a man's back, a narrow back clad in grey. The owner of the
back was looking in a shop window. It was the little youth that Evan
had seen before that morning. The inference was that he had stopped
merely to give Evan time to pass him.

"By God! another snooper!" thought Evan. "This one dogged our
foot-steps all the way up-town from the fruit-stand. Well, I'll give
him a little run for his money."

Entering one of the big stores Evan made his purchases. He then
hastened up one aisle and down another. It could have been no easy
task to follow him through the crowded store, but his little grey
shadow never lost the scent. In their gyrations Evan had an
opportunity to get a good look at his tracker. He was not like Alfred;
he had a decent look, or rather he looked neither decent nor mean, but
simply watchful. An impenetrable mask was drawn over his face, out of
which his eyes looked quietly, giving nothing awa