The ride down town took less than ten minutes and Bob reached the building at five minutes to one, just in time to see Tully Ross precede him through the main entrance. Bob paid his taxi fare and then left his heavy bag at the information desk on the main floor while he was whirled upward in an elevator. The same clerk who had greeted him that morning was on duty in the outer office and Tully, seated on a bench, was opening a large Manila envelope. “Your instructions, train tickets, expense money and data on the case are all in this envelope,” said the clerk, handing a similar container to Bob. “Your train leaves at 1:30 so I suggest that you get to the station at once and then go into the details of this case after you are on your way south.” “Thanks a lot,” nodded Bob. “I’m on my way.” “Good luck,” said the clerk, who looked enviously after Bob, for after all there were not very many thrills in clerical work. Chapter IV TULLY’S CHALLENGE ★ Tully Ross followed Bob into the elevator and they dropped toward the first floor. “I guess we’re taking the same train as far as Jacksonville,” said Tully. “What a pleasure that’s going to be!” Tully’s last words were sneering and vindictive, and a little of Bob’s pent-up resentment burst out. Fortunately no one else was in the elevator at the time. “You’d better take inventory of yourself, Tully,” advised Bob, “or you’re going to run head-on into trouble. I haven’t got it in for you and you can take full credit for anything that you do. Don’t be so blamed suspicious of everything. You do your work and I’ll do mine. The main thing is going to be to solve this case and I don’t care who does it just as long as we are successful. If you’d only warm up a little we could go over this case on the way south this afternoon and we might have some ideas that we could both benefit by.” Tully looked suspicious. “What are you getting at?” he asked. They were on the main floor again and passengers bound for the upper floors swept into the elevator. “We’ll take a taxi together to the station and I’ll tell you on the way there,” said Bob. Tully had two smaller bags while Bob had only the large gladstone and they loaded the bags and themselves into a taxi and started for the union station. “I’m just trying to get at this,” said Bob. “Both of us have chances for brilliant futures in this service if we don’t let personal rivalry warp our better judgment. That was a shabby trick of yours in giving that story to the newspapers and I rather think you hoped that I would be blamed.” Tully was silent and Bob went on. “I’m willing to let that pass and some other things that have happened if you feel that you’re willing to work along with me on this case. The old saying that two heads are better than one is certainly true in this kind of work and we can both benefit by it. What do you say?”