ith a knowing smile.

"Why, do you?" asked Helen eagerly, coming toward him.

Whitney's knowing smile increased in its quality of knowingness and he
spoke with an inflection that was quite baffling.

"Well," he said, in a confiding whisper, "I have an idea; but
he"--jerking his thumb over his shoulder where Travers Gladwin was
last seen departing from view--"is Travers Gladwin's most intimate
friend."

The astonishing character of this information served only further to
confuse the beautiful Miss Burton's already obfuscated reasoning
faculties and hypnotize her into that receptive condition where she
was capable of believing any solemnly expressed statement.

"Really!" she said with a little start of surprise.

"Oh, yes," ran on the glib Barnes, "they are lifelong chums--love each
other like brothers; one of those Castor and Pollox affairs, you
know--only more so. Never have any secrets from each other and all
that sort of thing."

Helen dropped back into her chair and her brow wrinkled with
perplexity.

"That's curious," she said. "I don't think Travers ever spoke to me
about that kind of a friend."

The idea was just burgeoning in her mind to ask for the friend's name
when Barnes hastened on:

"Well, now that is singular. Are you sure that"--

The sudden brisk return of Travers Gladwin saved Barnes from an
immediate excruciating tax upon his ingenuity.

"I'm awfully sorry," said Gladwin, going to Helen and shaking his head
regretfully, "but I couldn't find him."

"Oh, dear! That's very provoking!" cried Helen. "He didn't say he was
going out, did he?"

"No; I could have sworn he was here a few minutes ago," spoke up
Barnes, turning his head away for fear his smile would suddenly get
out of control.

"Well, is his man here?" demanded the girl.

"Why, he let you in," blurted Gladwin.

"I don't mean the Japanese."

"You mean the butler, perhaps," Gladwin corrected.

"Yes," Helen answered mechanically.

Travers Gladwin felt it was time for Barnes to take a hand again, as
his mental airship was bucking badly in the invisible air currents.

"Is Gladwin's butler here?" he inquired sharply, frowning at Barnes.

"No," said Barnes promptly.

"I am sorry, but he is not here," Gladwin communicated to Helen.

"Well, where is he?" cried the exasperated Helen.

"Where is he?" Gladwin asked Barnes.

Whitney Barnes went down for the count of one but bobbed up serenely.

"Where is he?" he said with a