was more intense.

"Why, yes," said Orme--"a little man from South America."

"Oh,--Mr. Poritol?" Her brows were knit in an adorable frown.

"Yes--and two Japanese."

"Oh!" Her exclamation was apprehensive.

"The Japanese got it," added Orme, ruefully. That she had the right to
this information it never occurred to him to question.

The girl stood rigidly. "Whatever shall I do now?" she whispered. "My
poor father!"

She looked helplessly at Orme. His self-possession had returned, and as
he urged her to a chair, he condemned himself for not guessing how
serious the loss of the bill must be to her. "Sit down," he said.
"Perhaps I can help. But you see, I know so little of what it all means.
Tell me everything you can."

With a sigh, she sank into the chair. Orme stood before her, waiting.

"That bill tells, if I am not mistaken," she said, wearily, "where
certain papers have been hidden. My father is ill at our place in the
country. He must have those papers before midnight to-morrow, or----"
Tears came into her eyes. Orme would have given much for the right to
comfort her. "So much depends upon finding them," she added--"more even
than I can begin to tell you."

"Let me help," said Orme, eager to follow those papers all over Chicago,
if only it would serve her. "Hear my story first." Rapidly he recounted
the adventures of the evening. She listened, eyes intent, nodding in
recognition of his description of Poritol and Alcatrante. When he came to
the account of the fight in the porter's office and spoke of the Japanese
with the scar on his forehead, she interrupted.

"Oh! That was Maku," she exclaimed.

"Maku?"

"Our butler. He must have overheard my father and me."

"Then he knew the value of the papers."

"He must have. I am sorry, Mr. Orme, that you have been so roughly used."

"That doesn't matter," he said. "They didn't hurt me in the least. And
now, what is your story? How did you get on the trail of the bill?"

"We came back from the East a few days ago," she began. "My father had to
undergo a slight operation, and he wished to have it performed by his
friend, Dr. Allison, who lives here, so we went to our home in--one of
the northern suburbs.

"Father could not go back East as soon as he had expected to, and he had
the papers sent to him, by special arrangement with the--with the other
parties to the contract. Mr. Poritol followed us from the East. I--we had
known him there. He was always amus