his ways! What do you guess he did with it?"

"I'm sticking to the truth--and what I actually know. I'm not guessing."

"Not even when you say he took the money?"

"I didn't see him take it. But he had a private entrance to the vault.
Everybody was so determined to plaster the guilt on to me that no
move was made against Britt on account of that back door of his. I was
railroaded by perjurers--and Britt was the captain of 'em."

"There's a corner on 'most everything these days, but it's really
too bad for a man like Britt to have a corner on so much valuable
knowledge," sighed the short man.

And the tall man sighed and agreed.

Mr. Wagg was catching up. With the appearance of a man who had been
running and was out of breath he panted, "What's--what's gong to be done
about it?"

Vaniman made no suggestions. Having cut the knot of his own entanglement
where these men were concerned, he felt no spirit of alacrity about
inviting them farther into his personal affairs; he realized that he
had merely shifted the course of their dogged pursuit of that money. In
spite of his feelings toward Britt, he was dreading what might come from
the disclosures he had just made. He had reason to distrust the tactics
such men might employ. His relief arising from the show-down was tinged
with regret; he was still sorry for the innocent losers in Egypt. To
employ two escaped convicts and a recreant prison guard in his efforts
to prevail on Britt and secure the rights due an innocent man promised
to involve him more wretchedly.

"Vaniman, suppose you take command and give off your orders," said the
short man.

"I haven't any sensible plans. I admit that. I have been so pestered and
wrought up by the everlasting bullyragging about the devilish money that
I haven't had a chance to figure out a way of getting at the man who
has ruined me," Vaniman complained. He strode to and fro, snapping his
fingers, revealing his sense of helplessness.

"Suppose we sleep on the thing--the whole four of us," suggested the
short man. "I said sleep, please note! This general show-down has
cleared the air up here a whole lot, I'll say! And Wagg has steered away
the dicks! They won't be strolling in, and till we have settled on a
plan I'm sure nobody will feel like strolling out. The night watch is
disbanded."

He marched off toward the camp. The others trailed on behind him.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE STIR OF THE YEAST

Mr. Delmont Bangs was natu