Mr. Snakit downstairs and
tell him where to report. Fix up his pay--you know," he gave a
significant sideways jerk of his head, and Crewe escorted the gratified
little detective from the apartment.

When the door had closed, the colonel turned on Silva.

"Pinto," he said and there was a rumble in his voice which betrayed his
anger, "that girl is dangerous. She may or may not know where her father
is--this detective business may be a blind. Probably Snakit was sent
here knowing that he would be captured and spill the beans."

"That struck me, too," said Pinto.

"She's dangerous," repeated the colonel.

He resumed his promenade up and down the room.

"She's an active worker and she's working against us. Now, I'm going to
settle with Miss White," he said gratingly. "I'm going to settle with
her for good and all. I don't care what she knows, but she probably
knows too much. She's hand in glove with the police and maybe she's
working with her father. You'll get Phillopolis here to-morrow
morning----"

The other's eyes opened.

"Phillopolis?" he almost gasped. "Good heavens! You're not going to----"

The colonel faced him squarely.

"You've had your chance with the girl and you've missed it," he said.
"You've tried your fancy method of courting and you've fallen down."

"But I'm not going to stand for Phillopolis," said the other, with tense
face. "I tell you I like the girl. There's going to be none of that----"

"Oh, there isn't, isn't there?" said the colonel in his silkiest tone.

Then suddenly he leaned forward across the table and his face was the
face of a devil.

"There's only one Boundary Gang, Pinto, and this is it," he said between
his clenched white teeth, "and there's only one Dan Boundary and that's
me. Do you get me, Pinto? You can go a long way with me if I happen to
be going that way. But you stand in the road and you're going to get
what's coming. I've been good to you, Pinto. I've stood your
interference because it amused me. But you come up against me, really up
against me, and by the Lord Harry! you'll know it. Did you get that?"

"I've got it" said Pinto sullenly.

CHAPTER X

THE GREEK PHILLOPOLIS

The upbuilding of the Boundary gang had neither been an accident, nor
was it exactly designed on the lines which it ultimately followed.

The main structure was Boundary himself, with his extraordinary
financial genius, his plausibility, his lightning exploitation of every
adva