choice--in pure
Magyar, I guess--and headed for the taxi. That is all, or practically
all. I tried to go back on my bargains with the Israelite in the
store, but he made such a row that I paid him, and when I reached the
second cab the driver told me that my man nodded as he passed, showing
that Vassilan was returning to the hotel. So I came here, and 'phoned
you."

Steingall glanced at a clock on the mantel-piece. He rose, threw open
a door, and switched on a light.

"Mr. Curtis," he said, "we must risk something, but I think I can make
you up sufficiently to escape recognition, not so much by the Count as
by others who may attend that supper party. You come, too, Mr. Devar.
There is safety in numbers."

With a deftness that was worthy of a theatrical costumier, the
detectives converted themselves and the two young men into ship's
firemen. No more effective or simpler disguise could have been devised
on the spur of the moment, nor one that might be assumed more readily.
Boots offered the main difficulty, but Clancy's purchase fitted Devar,
and Curtis made the best of a pair of canvas shoes, while a mixture of
grease and coffee extract applied to face and hands changed four
respectable looking persons into a gang which would certainly attract
the attention of the police anywhere outside the bounds of just such a
locality as they were bound for.

In case the exigencies of the chase separated them, Steingall gave some
instructions to the man in the inquiry office, and Devar tested the
realism of his appearance by disregarding the chauffeur of the
splendidly appointed automobile waiting at the exit. Walking up to the
car, he opened the door and said gruffly:

"Jump in, boys!"

The chauffeur wriggled out of his seat instantly, and leaped to the
pavement.

"Here, what the----" he began, whereupon Devar laughed.

"It's all right, Arthur," he said.

"What's all right? This car is here for Mr. Howard Devar," cried the
man angrily.

"Well, you cuckoo, and who am I?"

Something familiar in the voice caused the chauffeur to look closely at
the speaker, whom he had not seen for a considerable time except for a
fleeting glimpse on the arrival of the _Lusitania_ at New York that
afternoon. He was perplexed, but was evidently not devoid of humor.

"It's either you or your ghost, sir," he said, "and if it's your ghost
you must have been badly treated in the next world."

A roundsman was entering headquarters