the beautiful girl
in his arms and he half murmured an apology as he placed her feet gently
on the ground.

Life at Brent Rock was far from monotonous.

Like a great game of checkers, the various members of the establishment
were being moved about, guided by some strange hand, it seemed.

Now one, then another seemed to gain the advantage, and as each strove
for control of the vast fortune, the battle of wits surged back and
forth.

Balcom was playing a game, it was plain. But to what extent? Sometimes
it seemed as though Zita was his aide and would stop at nothing to
succeed. Again it was that Zita played the game alone, still fostering
her secret but hopeless love for Locke. Again it seemed as if Paul were
playing the game, either alone or with some one else.

Just now it was apparent that Balcom and Zita, for their own ends,
whatever might be the identity of the Automaton, planned a coup for
themselves.

During one of Locke's absences Zita had secured access to his
laboratory, and while looking around had discovered the dictagraph
hidden in the desk drawer. Often Balcom and Zita, either together or
alone, had taken advantage of the discovery.

It was at a time when both were using the mechanical eavesdropper on
Locke and Eva in the library that Locke suddenly decided to return to
the laboratory, without saying anything about it.

Zita's quick ear heard him down the hall.

"Quick!" she warned. "Some one is coming!"

She sprang toward the closet door, which stood ajar, and in an instant
Balcom was with her. The two were concealed in the closet as the
laboratory door opened and Locke entered.

Locke walked to his table of test-tubes and picked up one containing
mercury. What prompted this action he did not know. Perhaps it was his
fascination for the elusive metal. Perhaps it was some subconscious
feeling. At any rate, he held it aloft and gazed at it in the light. As
he did so a strange thing happened. Reflected in its surface on the
glass, yet distorted like a convex mirror, he could see the door of the
closet open just a crack and the evil faces of Balcom and Zita peer out.

He did not move nor did he in any way betray what he saw, but
nonchalantly set the tube of precious metal down and pretended to seek
something from the table. He turned slowly and retraced his steps to the
library below, where he entered, holding his fingers to his lips in
warning to Eva not to speak. He walked quickly over to a wr