on Maxon's women."

"Yes, sir."

The watchman had nothing further to offer, and Varr went up to his
office and busied himself with the morning mail. There were more
indignant demands from aggrieved customers, and the fact that Simon had
expected them did not lessen their power to annoy. His face grew
steadily redder and redder as he worked through the pile of
correspondence.

A clock in the outer office struck eleven, and as the last loud stroke
thinned to silence there came the sound of heavy footsteps ascending
the stairs. Jason Bolt believed in punctuality.

He entered with a cheerful greeting that suggested he had recovered
some of his equanimity since his earlier talk with his partner. On his
heels came his friend, a genial-looking, red-faced, smooth-shaven
gentleman whose personal dimensions and displacement were such that
they seemed to dwarf the small office to the proportions of a room in a
doll's house. He stood well over six feet, was broad, deep-chested and
bulky, but moved with a light-footed agility that argues muscle rather
than fat. Simon was not a small man himself, but he felt like a pigmy
as his hand disappeared into one that opened like a suitcase.

"Glad to meet you, Mr. Varr," said the newcomer pleasantly, in a voice
that was deep but agreeably pitched. "Bolt has been showing me the
whole works, here. You have a fine proposition."

"I think so," concurred Simon with mild gruffness. "Jason is
dissatisfied with it, but it suits me very well."

"So I have gathered from talking with him," said Mr. Krech, genially.
"No doubt you are right--at any rate, I seldom try to advise other men
in respect to their own business." He took a huge cigar-case from his
pocket and opened it, then offered it to Varr and Jason Bolt. "No?
You don't mind if I do, though?" He carefully lighted a mammoth cigar
and sat down on a chair toward which Simon had waved. "I see that some
one else is dissatisfied with the tannery, too. You must have had a
narrow escape from being burned out last night."

"Ah, yes! We have had some little trouble with a number of malcontent
employees. I am gradually weeding out the more noxious of them--eh,
Jason?" Mr. Bolt palpably winced. "In fact, Mr. Krech, there have
been developments in connection with that fire, and certain other
occurrences, that put it in my mind to ask something of you."

"Bolt told me that you wanted to see me about something," said the big
man h