"And the gas all comes through one meter?"
"Yes, one meter. It's just off the engine room."
"I suppose there's no way of telling just who in the house uses gas?"
"No. Some do and some don't. I don't know."
This was what Hatch had told the scientist. Now together they went to the basement, and there met the night engineer, Charles Burlingame, a tall, powerful, clean-cut man, of alert manner and positive speech. He gazed with a little amusement at the slender, almost childish figure of The Thinking Machine and the grotesquely large head.
"You are in the engine room or near it all night every night?" began The Thinking Machine.
"I haven't missed a night in four years," was the reply.
"Anybody ever come here to see you at night?"
"Never. It's against the rules."
"The manager or a hall boy?"