the fortune to which Hood had referred so lightly.
Deering's hastily formed impressions of Hood's chauffeur were wholly
agreeable and satisfying.

Hood, lingering in the hall, could be heard warning Briggs against the
further accumulation of fat. He recommended a new system of reducing, and
gave the flushed and stuttering butler the name of a New York specialist
in dietetics whom he advised him to consult without delay.

The chauffeur's lips twitched and, catching Deering's eye, he winked.
Deering tapped his forehead. Cassowary shook his head.

"Don't you believe it!" he ejaculated with spirit.

At this moment Hood appeared on the steps, banging his recovered stick
noisily as he descended.

"The Barton Arms, Cassowary," he ordered, and they set off at a lively
clip.

III

On the steps of the Barton Arms an hour later Hood and Deering ran into
two men who were just leaving the inn. Hood greeted them heartily as old
acquaintances and remained talking to them while Deering went to ask for
rooms.

"The suspicions of those fellows always tickle me," he remarked as he
joined Deering at the desk, where he scrawled "R. Hood, Sherwoodville,"
on the register. "Detectives--rather good as the breed goes, but not men
of true vision. Now and then I've been able to give them a useful
hint--the slightest, mind you, and only where I could divert suspicion
from some of my friends in the underworld. I always try to be of
assistance to predatory genius; there are clever crooks and stupid ones;
the kind who stoop to vulgar gun-work when their own stupidity gets them
into a tight pinch don't appeal to me. My artistic sensibilities are
affronted by clumsy work."

"Perhaps--" Deering suggested with a hasty glance at the door--"maybe
they're looking for me!"

"Bless you, no," Hood replied as they followed a boy with their bags;
"nothing so intelligent as that. On the contrary"--he paused at the
landing and laid his hand impressively on Deering's arm--"on the
contrary, they're looking for _me_!"

He went on with a chuckle and a shake of the head, as though the thought
of being pursued by detectives gave him the keenest pleasure. When he
reached their rooms he sat down and struck his knee sharply and chuckled
again. Deering turned frowningly for an explanation of his mirth.

"Oh, don't bother about those chaps! I repeat, that they are looking for
me, but"--he knit his fingers behind his head and grinned--"they don't
_know