itted any crime that I know of. And I don't own a thing in the
world anybody could covet. Who hired you to trail me?"

"Nobody," said the boy. "You're mistaken."

Evan began to get hot under the collar. He got up.

"By God----!" he began, clenching his fist. Then he stopped, because
his anger rang false to him. In fact he couldn't work up a genuine
anger against the strange-eyed boy who neither cringed before him nor
defied him but simply looked.

"It would be a shame to hit you," he went on, "you're too little. But
I warn you to keep away from me hereafter. The next time I stumble
over you I won't be so gentle, see? You keep out of my way, that's
all."

He strode off across the Square in the direction of his own place. He
felt exasperated and helpless. He was clearly the injured party, yet
he had come off second best in an encounter with a mere child. To make
matters worse he was perfectly sure that the youth was still trotting
after him like a little dog that refuses to be sent home. He would not
look around to see. As he passed in the door of 45A he did look
around, and there sure enough was his little sleuth across the street.
Evan slammed the door and went up-stairs swearing.

The next time he had occasion to leave the house, the youth had gone.
He saw him no more--that day. "Perhaps his game was to learn where I
lived," thought Evan.

CHAPTER IV

THE NEW LODGER

Evan's pal Charley Straiker occupied the adjoining room on the top
floor of 45A and the two pooled their household arrangements. It was
Evan's week to cook the dinners, consequently when dinner was eaten his
was the privilege of occupying the easy chair with the stuffing coming
out and cock his feet on the cold stove while Evan washed up.

During the afternoon Evan had painted and delivered a label that had
been ordered of him, and had cleaned up generally as if in preparation
for a journey. But he had not yet said a word to Charley of the events
of the morning. As a matter of fact Evan had a prudent tongue, which
Charley most decidedly had not, and it had occurred to Evan that he had
better find out where he was at, before entrusting the tale to his
garrulous partner.

Evan drew at his pipe and gloomed at the wall. Now that the mild
excitement induced by the morning's events was over, a heaviness had
returned to his spirit. Meanwhile Charley ran on like a brook.

Charley was a lean and sprawling youth with lank blo