“Then he returned to the house.

“I laid around the place for several hours, thinking he would come out. He did not put in an appearance, and I proceeded to make inquiries.

“Then I discovered that he was not in his room, and I knew he had left the hotel.

“I haven’t been able to get on his trail.”

“The deuce!”

“That cove is like an eel.”

For a time the men were silent.

Carter realized that Brockey had been tracking him, and saw that in the future he would have to be more cautious.

It was only by a mere stroke of good luck that he had slipped out of the hotel unrecognized.

Finally, Darwin looked across the table at his companion, and said: