!"

"Very good again." Mr. Barnham raised a fat hand and wheezed in an
effort at intense enjoyment of the reply. "So I have--so I have. I
merely asked that to be asking. Now, to be serious, have n't you some
enemies, Mr. Fairchild?"

"Have I?"

"I was merely asking."

"And I judged from your question that you seemed to know."

"So I do. And one friend." Barnham pursed his heavy lips and nodded
in an authoritative manner. "One, very, very good friend."

"I was hoping that I had more than that."

"Ah, perhaps so. But I speak only from what I know. There is one
person who is very anxious about your welfare."

"So?"

Mr. Barnham leaned forward in an exceedingly friendly manner.

"Well, is n't there?"

Fairchild squared away from the table.

"Mr. Barnham," came coldly; the inherent distrust for the greasy,
uninviting individual having swerved to the surface. "You wired me
that you had some very important news for me. I came down here
expressly because of that wire. Now that I 'm here, your mission seems
to be wholly taken up in drawing from me any information that I happen
to possess about myself. Plainly and frankly, I don't like it, and I
don't like you--and unless you can produce a great deal more than you
have already, I 'll have to chalk up the expense to a piece of bad
judgment and go on about my business."

He started to rise, and Barnham scrambled to his feet.

"Please don't," he begged, thrusting forth a fat hand, "please, please
don't. This is a very important matter. One--one has to be careful in
going about a thing as important as this is. The person is in a very
peculiar position."

"But I 'm tired of the way you beat around the bush. You tell me some
meager scrap of filmy news and then ask me a dozen questions. As I
told you before, I don't like it--and I 'm just about at the point
where I don't care what information you have!"

"But just be patient a moment--I 'm coming to it. Suppose--" then he
cupped his hands and stared hard at the ceiling, "Suppose that I told
you that there was some one who was willing to see you through all your
troubles, who had arranged everything for you, and all you had to do
would be to say the word to find yourself in the midst of comfort and
riches?"

CHAPTER XVI

Fairchild blinked in surprise at this and sank back into his chair.
Finally he laughed uneasily and puffed again on the dubious cigar.

"I 'd say," came finally, "that t