door," confessed Hard, with
a chuckle. "The chap must have found that old bunch of keys that's been
knocking around in the pocket of my old office coat. I'm afraid that's
where he got the knife that did for poor Yellow, too."

"Do you mean there was a duplicate key?" demanded Scott.

"There must have been. Clever chap to ferret it out," replied Hard,
breezily.

"Mighty clever. I could open a door myself with a key in my hand,"
muttered Scott, as he turned away. "Well, he's gone and the car's gone and
we might as well go back to bed."

"Just one moment." Polly's voice was clear and firm. "I think you owe me
an apology, Mr. Scott."

There was a suppressed chuckle from the rear where the train gang still
lingered. Scott stiffened and cleared his throat consciously.

"I apologize," he said; then, as he saw the others disappear down the
street, "Will you shake hands?"

"Not right now; I'm going to think it over," said the girl, coolly. "I
think you should have known that I wouldn't do a thing like that."

"Well, I did know it, of course," confessed Scott, helplessly. "But----"

"But you didn't believe it." Polly's voice was cutting. "Well, next time
have a little more faith in your friends, Mr. Scott," and the blanketed
figure disappeared into the house.

"She had you there," observed Mrs. Van. "Well, go home to bed before you
wake up Jimmy--it's a wonder he's slept through this all right."

She went into the house and knocked softly at the girl's door--after
listening a moment and assuring herself that Adams had not wakened.
Polly's room was dark and she was standing, still wrapped in the blanket,
by the window in the moonlight.

"Well?" she said, rather curtly.

"Nothing--only----" Mrs. Van's usually glib tongue faltered. "I was just
going to say that you mustn't take Marc Scott too--too--I mean, you
mustn't be too hard on him."

"Hard!"

"Yes. It's just his way; he don't mean to be ugly. He's queer, Scotty is,
kind of--oh, I don't know how to put it, but he didn't mean to be rude to
you."

"He was, though, very rude."

"Yes, that's what I mean. It sort of shocked him to think you'd do a thing
like that and he didn't stop to think."

"Maybe he'll stop to think next time."

"Maybe, but I don't reckon so. Folks like that you can't change much; you
have to take 'em or leave 'em as they are. He's awful square, though. I'd
trust him with anything; money, liquor, or women. When you've been around
as much