scuss this matter quietly. If you
listen to reason, I assure you it will go no further."

"Do you mean to say that you accuse me of stealing those bonds?" Radnor
shouted.

Clancy held up a warning hand.

"Don't talk so loud; someone will hear you. Sit down." He nodded toward
a seat on the other side of the little rustic table. "I will explain the
matter as I see it, and if you can disprove any of my statements I shall
be more than glad to have you."

Radnor subsided and listened scowlingly while the detective outlined his
theory in a perfectly non-personal way, and ended by producing the
letter.

"Where did you get that?" Rad demanded.

"Out of your coat pocket which I hooked over the transom of the door."
He made the statement imperturbably; it was evidently a matter of
everyday routine.

"So you enter gentlemen's houses as their guest and spend your time
sneaking about reading their private correspondence?"

An angry gleam appeared in Clancy's eye and he rose to his feet.

"I did not come to your house as your guest. I came on business for
Colonel Gaylord. Now that my business is completed I will make my report
to him and go."

Radnor rose also.

"It's a lie, and you haven't a word of proof to show."

Clancy significantly tapped the pocket that held the letter.

"That," said Radnor contemptuously, "refers to two bonds which I bought
last winter with some money I got from selling a mortgage. I preferred
to have the investment in bonds because they are more readily
negotiable. I left them at my broker's as collateral for another
investment I was making. Last week I needed some ready money and wrote
to them to sell. My statement can easily be substantiated; no reputable
detective would ever base any such absurd charge on the contents of a
letter he did not understand."

"Of course," said the detective, "we have tried to get at the matter
from the other end; but Jacoby, Haight & Company refuse to discuss the
affairs of their clients. I did not press the point as I did not want to
stir up comment. However," he smiled, "I must confess, Mr. Gaylord, that
I think your explanation a trifle fishy. Perhaps you will answer one
question. Did you mail your letter to them in Kennisburg the night of
the robbery with a special delivery stamp?"

"It happens that I did, but it was merely a coincidence and has nothing
to do with the robbery."

"Will you be kind enough to explain why you drove to Kennisburg in the
ni