ree great windows on the
first floor send forth hospitable beams, for the spacious room within
was the scene of an amusing revel. Mr. William Pierpont Van Hofen,
ex-commodore of the New York Yacht Club, owner of the _Sans Souci_,
and multi-millionaire, had just astonished his friends by one of the
eccentric jests for which he was famous.

The _Sans Souci_, notable the world over for its size, speed, and
fittings, was going out of commission for the winter. Van Hofen had
marked the occasion by widespread invitations to a dinner at his club,
"to be followed by a surprise party," and the nature of the "surprise"
was becoming known. Each lady had drawn by lot the name of her dinner
partner, and each couple was then presented with a sealed envelope
containing tickets for one or other of the many theaters in New York.
Thus, not only were husbands, wives, eligible bachelors, and smart
debutantes inextricably mixed up, but none knew whither the oddly
assorted pairs were bound, since the envelopes were not to be opened
until the meal reached the coffee and cigarette stage.

There existed, too, a secret within a secret. Seven men were bidden
privately to come on board the _Sans Souci_, moored in the Hudson
off the Eighty-sixth Street landing-stage, and there enjoy a quiet
session of auction bridge.

"We'll duck before the trouble gets fairly started," explained Van Hofen
to his cronies. "You'll see how the bunch is sorted out at dinner, but
the tangle then will be just one cent in the dollar to the pandemonium
when they find out where they're going."

Of course, everybody was acquainted with everybody else, or the joke
might have been in bad taste. Moreover, as the gathering was confined
exclusively to the elect of New York society, the host had notified the
Detective Bureau, and requested the presence of one of their best men
outside the club shortly before eight o'clock. None realized better than
he that where the carcass is there the vultures gather, and he wanted no
untoward incident to happen during the confusion which must attend the
departure of so many richly bejeweled ladies accompanied by unexpected
cavaliers.

Thus it befell that Detective-Inspector Clancy was detailed for the
job. Steingall and he were the "inseparables" of the Bureau, yet no two
members of a marvelously efficient service were more unlike, physically
and mentally. Steingall was big, blond, muscular, a genial giant whose
qualities rendered him al