ity did
not matter if they caught him, and his old feeling that it was a duel
between Shepard and himself returned. He believed that the duty to catch
the man had been laid upon him.

He began to haunt Richmond at all hours of the night. More than once he
had to give explanations to watchmen about public buildings, but he clung
to the task that he had imposed upon himself. He explained to Dalton and
the Virginian found no fault except for Harry's loss of time that might
be devoted to amusement. Harry sometimes rebuked himself for his own
persistency, but Bagby's taunt had stung a little, and he felt that it
applied more to himself than to Dalton. He knew Shepard and he knew
something of his ways. Moreover, his was the blood of the greatest of
all trailers, and it was incumbent upon him to find the spy. Yet he was
trailing in a city and not in a forest. In spite of everything he clung
to his work.

On a later night about one o'clock in the morning he was near the
building that housed army headquarters, and he noticed a figure come from
some bushes near it. He instantly stepped back into the shadow and saw
a man glance up and down the street, probably to see if it was clear.
It was a night to favor the spy, dark, with heavy clouds and gusts of
rain.

The figure, evidently satisfied that no one was watching, walked briskly
down the street, and Harry's heart beat hard against his side. He knew
that it was Shepard, the king of spies, against whom he had matched
himself. He could not mistake, despite the darkness, his figure, his
walk and the swing of his powerful shoulders.

His impulse was to cry for help, to shout that the spy was here, but
at the first sound of his voice Shepard would at once dart into the
shrubbery, and escape through the alleys of Richmond. No, his old
feeling that it was a duel between Shepard and himself was right, and so
they must fight it out.

Shepard walked swiftly toward the narrower and more obscure streets,
and Harry followed at equal speed. The night grew darker and the rain,
instead of coming in gusts, now fell steadily. Twice Shepard stopped
and looked back. But on each occasion Harry flattened himself against a
plank fence and he did not believe the spy had seen him.

Then Shepard went faster and his pursuer had difficulty in keeping him in
view. He went through an alley, turned into a street, and Harry ran in
order not to lose sight of him.

The alley came into the