e parlour, I
guess. They'll excuse you, Nellie."

"I'll do nothing of the sort," snapped Nellie, noting the change in
him. "Go away or I'll have a policeman called."

He grinned. "Well, if you do, he'll catch me with the goods," he said,
mysteriously.

"The goods?" repeated Nellie.

"Do you want to see it?" he asked, fixing her with his eyes. As he
started to withdraw his hand from his overcoat pocket, a general cry
of alarm went up and there was a sudden shifting of positions.

"Don't do that!" roared two or three of the men in a breath.

"Keep that thing in your pocket!" commanded Fairfax, huskily, without
removing his gaze from the arm that controlled the hidden hand.

Harvey gloated. He waved the hand that held his hat. "Don't be
alarmed, ladies," he said. "You are quite safe. I can hit a silver
dollar at twenty paces, so there's no chance of anything going wild."

"For God's sake!" gasped Fairfax. Suddenly he disappeared beneath the
edge of the table. His knees struck the floor with a resounding
thump.

"Get away from me!" shrieked the corpulent lady, kicking at him as
she fled the danger spot.

Harvey stooped and peered under the table at his enemy, a broad grin
on his face. Fairfax took it for a grin of malevolence.

"Peek-a-boo!" called Harvey.

"Don't shoot! For the love of Heaven, don't shoot!" yelled Fairfax.
Then to the men who were edging away in quest of safety behind the
sideboard, china closet, and serving table:--"Why don't you grab him,
you idiots?"

Harvey suddenly realised the danger of his position. He straightened
up and jerked the revolver from his pocket, brandishing it in full
view of them all.

"Keep back!" he shouted--a most unnecessary command.

Those who could not crowd behind the sideboard made a rush for the
butler's pantry. Feminine shrieks and masculine howls filled the air.
Chairs were overturned in the wild rush for safety. No less than three
well-dressed women were crawling on their hands and knees toward the
only means of exit from the room.

"Telephone for the police!" yelled Fairfax, backing away on
all-fours, suggesting a crawfish.

"Stay where you are!" cried Harvey, now thoroughly alarmed by the turn
of affairs.

They stopped as if petrified. The three men who were wedged in the
pantry door gave over struggling for the right of precedence and
turned to face the peril.

Once more he brandished the weapon, and once more there were shrieks
and groans, thi