watchman dutifully and dolefully. He had
rather been looking forward to public kudos and acclaim. "You'll tell
Steiner, sir, I suppose?"

"Do as I tell you, and leave the rest to me!" Varr returned sharply.
He handed back the borrowed torch, first glancing at his watch by its
light. "Only half-past one! I could have sworn I'd been down here the
best part of the night. Come along!"

They returned to the office building, Varr leaving a few more
directions for increased and unceasing watchfulness as the exhausted
Fay dropped into his chair in the front hall. Then Simon betook
himself to his car and drove slowly homeward.

His bad temper had largely worn itself out on the various irritations
that had kept it jumping, and in sooth the time had come for anger to
give way to calculation. There were so many things to be thought of!
Enough to make a man's head spin!

The matter of Copley by itself--! He did not know yet just what was
back of the boy's angry declaration that his father was "finished" with
him. Was he planning to leave home? A nice row there'd be with a
wounded mother! And Copley--Simon judged others by himself--would be
sure to make the most of his grievance with her over a parental
stratagem that had miscued!

The thought of that nasty few minutes in the study reminded him of
Graham. Another coil. Jason Bolt would have some bitter comment on
the wisdom of firing a useful man with no substitute in sight; Jason
had a rough tongue at times for all his good-nature. That would be
still another quarrel--and he couldn't fire Jason!

And this blasted Monk, with his anonymous letters and talk of
thunderbolts! He must be taken seriously after this night's work.
True, there was no definite proof to connect him with the fire but it
was too probable a hypothesis to be lightly dismissed. What had he
better do to cut that fellow's claws? There was hope, of course, that
he had worked off his spleen in firing the tannery, and also that a
wholesome fear of being caught and convicted of arson might cool his
spirit! Unless he was mad--!

He left his car in the garage and locked the sliding-door behind him
with a feeling of relief that the balance of the night was likely to
pass without further incident. As he walked from the garage to the
house, he remembered the decanter and glass still standing on the study
table and welcomed the idea of another bracer before bed. He had
earned it.

The darkened ho