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Dick Fle's lips set in a thin line "Just athe table between thelance at the scrap of paper in his hand by the flickering light of the candle Then he faced Dale boldly

"Do you suppose, if that money is actually here, that I can siive it to Bailey?" he said "Every man has his price How do I know that Bailey's isn't a million dollars?"

Dale felt as if he had dashed cold water in her face "What do youturned the blue-print over in his hand

"I don't know," he said "What is it you want rown very definite

"Aren't you going to give it to me?"

He put her off "I'll have to think about that" He looked at the blue-print again "So the ardener?" he said with a sneer in his tones

Dale's teive it to me--there's a detective in this house," she said, with a stamp of her foot SheJack, turned back to Fle

"Give it to the detective and let hi startled "What's a detective doing here?"

"People have been trying to break in"

"What people?"

"I don't know"

Fleht

"Then it is here," he ust of air thatopen just a crack Was a listener crouched behind those doors--or was it only a trick of carpentry--a gesture of chance?

Thecompletely His lips drew back fros to its prey at the cost of life or death

Before Dale could stop him, he picked up the discarded blue-prints and threw the only the precious scrap in his hand The roll blackened and burst into flaive this to any detective," he said quietly, tapping the piece of paper in his hand

Dale's heart pounded sickeningly but she kept her courage up

"What do youto do?"

He faced her across the fireplace, his airy h to add an additional touch of the sinister to the cold self-revelation of his words