"Did I? I don't remember it," said the man, coldly. He had fully recovered his self-possession.

"Yes, I met you on the stairs. I was going up and you were coming down."

"Is that so? It has slipped my mind entirely." The man pretended to yawn. "What's your name?"

"Mark Radley. My step-father's name is Jadell Powers."

"I don't know him."

"What is your name?"

"Morgan Fitzsimmons."

"You are from Philadelphia, aren't you?"

"I have been there a few times," answered Morgan Fitzsimmons, and pretended to yawn again. "I am a great traveler. Just now I am doing the gold fields."

"Then you are not going to try your luck at mining?"