time that night--only Macartney!

I stood and stared at him like a fool. It was a good half minute before
I even wondered what had brought Macartney out of his bed in the assay
office. I watched him stupidly, and he moved; hesitated; and then turned
to the house door. My heart gave a jump Hutton never could have brought
there. Macartney in the house with a light, coming into the office for
something, for all I knew, and finding Paulette and me, would be merely
a living telephone to Marcia! I tapped at the office window.

Macartney had good ears, I praised the Lord. He turned, not startled,
but looking round him searchingly, and I stuck my head out of the hinged
pane of the double window, thanking the Lord again that I had not to
shove up a squeaking inside sash. "What's brought you back again?" I
kept my voice down, remembering Marcia. "Anything gone wrong?"

"What?" said Macartney rather sharply. He came close and stared at me.
"Oh, it's you, Stretton? I thought it was Wilbraham, and he wouldn't be
any good. It was you I wanted. I've got a feeling there's some one
hanging round outside here."

I hoped to heaven he had not seen Hutton, waiting for an appointment a
girl was not going to keep, and I half lied: "I haven't seen any one.
D'ye mean you thought you did?"

Macartney nodded. "Couldn't swear to it, but I thought so. And I'd too
much gold in my safe to go to bed; I cleaned up this afternoon. I was
certain I glimpsed a strange man slipping behind the bunk house when I
went down an hour ago, and I've been hunting him ever since. I half
thought I saw him again just now. But, if I did, he's gone!"

"I'll come out!"

But Macartney shook his head sententiously. "I'm enough. I've guns for
the four mill men who sleep in the shack off the assay office, and
you've a whack of gold in that room you're standing in; you'd better not
leave it. Though I don't believe there's any real need for either of us
to worry: if there was any one around I've scared him. I only thought
I'd better come up and warn you I'd seen some one. 'Night," and he was
gone.

I had a sudden idea that he might be a better man in the woods than I
had thought he was, for he slid out of the house shadow into the bush
without ever showing up in the moonlight. And as I thought it I felt
Paulette clutch me, shivering from head to foot. It shocked me, somehow.
I put my arm straight around her, like you do around a child, and spoke
deliberately, "Steady,