hat last may be a warning. Again it could be a mere notation.
What else did O'Toole find, Delaney?"

"That's all, except that he put the boy to bed here at about one
o'clock. There's a 'phone in Nichols' apartment. O'Toole sneaked up the
stairs and heard it ringing. He had to come down for fear of queering
things. He said that's all, chief."

The detective turned and entered the storm-door. He struck a match and,
shielding it with his hands, searched the names over the mailboxes. A
neat card, set in well-polished bronze, indicated, "Harry E. Nichols,
Apartment Three."

"He keeps this place all of the time," said Drew, jabbing at the
button. "He's down on furlough or Government business. Nice place,
this," he added as the inner door-lock clicked and he thrust his foot
forward. "Looks like about two hundred a month. This is exclusively
bachelor!"

"Them bachelor apartments," said Delaney with candor as he glided into
the hallway. "Them places like this ain't what they seem. There's some
big parties pulled off in them. I remembers----"

"Sisst!" warned Drew, clutching the operative's arm. "Easy," he
whispered. "Come on. Somebody is waiting upstairs for us. See his head
in the light by the banister. Same chap, ain't it?"

"Can't see, Chief. Might be!"

"Nice house," commented Drew as his feet sank in a deep-blue hall
carpet. "Good ornaments and fixtures throughout the place. Nice house!
Just about what I'd expected. Here we are. I'll do the talking."

A blond pompadour, under which was a pair of wide gray eyes that
blinked at them, greeted the two detectives as they turned the last
landing. A thick-lipped mouth, in which was considerable strength and
determination, opened and revealed a double row of strong, young teeth
that would have delighted an Army recruiting sergeant.

"Well, what do you gentlemen want at this hour of the morning?"

Drew squared his shoulders and pressed Delaney back a foot or more.

"Harry Nichols?" he asked brusquely.

"Yes, I'm Harry Nichols."

"Miss Stockbridge's friend?"

The gray eyes widened perceptibly. The lids dropped in heavy
calculation. "Who are you?" the young man asked point-blankly. "I don't
believe I ever had the pleasure of meeting either of you gentlemen."
Nichols glanced into Delaney's leaning face which was just over his
chief's shoulder.

"No, you haven't," said Drew softening his tone. "We've never met, but
we may see considerable of each other. Here's my card