rmance to the time-honoured custom of
the midnight taximeter union. But the driver's habitual demand for two
and one-half times the proper fare by distance proved in this instance
quite fruitless. Staff calmly counted out the right amount, put it in
the man's hand, listened with critical appreciation to the resultant
flow of profanity until it verged upon personality, then deliberately
dragged the man by the scruff of his neck, choking and cursing, from his
seat to the sidewalk.

"Now, listen," said he in a level tone: "you've got either to put up or
shut up. I've been sort of aching to beat the tar out of one of you
highwaymen for some time, and I feel just ripe for it tonight. You
either put up your fists or crawl--another yap out of you and I won't
wait for you to do either."

The man bristled and then, analysing the gleam in Staff's eyes, crawled:
that is to say, he climbed back into his seat and swung the machine to
the far side of the street before again resorting to vituperation.

To this Staff paid no more attention. He was opening the front door. The
passage had comforted him considerably, but he was presently to regret
it. But for that delay he might have been spared a deal of trouble.

As he let himself into the house, a man in evening dress came running
down the stairs, brushed past rudely and without apology, and slammed
the door behind him. Staff wondered and frowned slightly. Presumably the
fellow had been calling on one of the tenants of the upper floors. There
had been something familiar in his manner--something reminiscent, but
too indefinite for recognition. And certainly he'd been in the devil of
a hurry!

In the meantime he had mounted the first flight of stairs and turned
through the hall to his study door. To his surprise it wasn't locked. He
seemed distinctly to remember locking it when he had left for dinner.
Still, memory does play us odd tricks.

He pushed the door open and entered the room. At the same moment he
heard the trilling of the telephone bell. The instrument stood upon his
desk between the two front windows. Without pausing to switch on one of
the lights in the combination gas- and electrolier in the centre of the
room, he groped his way through blinding darkness to the desk and,
finding the telephone instrument with the certainty of old acquaintance,
lifted the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?" he called.

A thin and business-like voice detailed his number.

"Yes," he said.