her room, and her excited mind, now half inspired, went
feverishly over the situation and all who were in any wise concerned
in it. She thought of the fifty dollar check from the Acme Filter
Company. With her new viewpoint she now understood the whole
bewildering business of that check. The company, or at least one of
its officers, was somehow in on the deal, and there had been some
careful scheming behind the sending of that fifty dollars. The
company had been confronted with two obvious difficulties. First, it
had to make certain that the check would not be received until after
the two thousand dollars was in the hands of her father. Second, the
date of the check and the date of the Westville postmark must be
earlier than the day the two thousand dollars was delivered--else
Doctor West could produce check and envelope to prove that the check
had not arrived until after he had already accepted what he thought
was the donation, and thus perhaps ruin the whole scheme. What had
been done, Katherine now clearly perceived, was that some one, most
probably an assistant of her father, had been bought over to look out
for the arrival of the letter, to hold it back until the critical day
had passed, and then slip it into her father's neglected mail.

Her mind raced on to further matters, further persons, connected with
the situation. When she came to Bruce her hands clenched the arms of
her wicker rocking chair. In a flash the whole man was plain to her,
and her second great discovery of the day was made.

Bruce was an agent of the hidden corporation!

The motive behind his fierce desire to destroy her father was at last
apparent. To destroy Doctor West was his part in the conspiracy. As
for his rabid advocacy of municipal ownership, and all his fine talk
about the city's betterment, that was mere sham--merely the virtuous
front behind which he could work out his purpose unsuspected. No one
could quote the scripture of civic improvement more loudly than the
civic despoiler. She always had distrusted him. Now she knew him. Many
a time through the night her mind flashed back to him from other
matters and she thrilled with a vengeful joy at the thought of tearing
aside his mask.

It was a long and feverish night to Katherine, and a long and feverish
forenoon. At a quarter to two she was in Blake's office, which was
furnished with just that balance between simplicity and richness
appropriate to a growing great man with a consti