," he said gently. "Everything is all right." He
took her arm to reassure her and then spoke to Phelan, who had been
making a vain effort to solve the mix-up and didn't feel quite sure
that he wasn't bewitched.

"Now, Phelan," said Gladwin, "I'll explain the thing."

"I wish to God ye would!" said Phelan from the bottom of his heart.

"This lady's being here is all right--and she isn't connected with
this affair in any way. I'll prove that to you readily enough."

"Well, go ahead." And Phelan crossed his eyes in an effort to include
in the focus both Gladwin and the thief de luxe, whose splendidly
groomed appearance impressed him the more.

On his part the thief was leaning carelessly against a cabinet looking
on with the expression of one both amused and bored. What he had
noticed most was that Helen kept her eyes averted from him as if she
feared to look at him and that she had palpably transferred her
allegiance to Gladwin. When she had recovered some of her self-control
she followed that young man's words eagerly and obeyed his slightest
signal.

"I will explain to you, Phelan, as soon as I see this young lady
started for home," Gladwin ran on, and proceeded with Helen toward the
entrance to the hallway.

"Hold on! Yez'll not leave this room," Phelan stopped them, his
suspicions again in a state of conflagration.

"But I only want----"

"I don't care what yez want," Phelan snorted, blocking the way.
"Yez'll stay here."

"Oh, well--just as you say," returned the young man desperately, "but
I will have to ask my man to escort this lady out and put her in a
taxicab. Bateato"----

"Bad Pertaters 'll stay where he is."

Phelan was visibly swelling with the majesty of the law.

"You're very disagreeable," Gladwin charged him; then to Helen, "I'm
awfully sorry I cannot go with you, but I think you can find the way
yourself. Just go out through the hall, and"----

"She'll stay right here with the rest o' yez," was Phelan's ultimatum,
as he squared himself in the doorway with the heroic bearing of a
bridge-defending Horatius.

The only member of that tense little tableau who really had anything
to fear from the spectre of the law embodied in the person of Officer
666 had waited for Gladwin to play his poor hand and, conceiving that
this was the psychological moment, sauntered across the room and said
with easy assurance:

"Officer, if there's anything further you want of me, you'll have to
be quick."