As the afternoon waned Bob tried to analyze the character of the other clerks in the office. He had known them casually for more than a year now, but until this time he had never really tried to probe into their inner characters. It was a task that he was particularly well fitted to do, for he had a rare gift of discernment of character and anything untrue in another usually sounded an alarm bell in Bob’s mind. One by one he checked them off his list of possible suspects in connection with the disappearance of the radio paper. Could one of them have tipped off anyone outside? It was an unpleasant possibility, but Bob knew that in his new work he would be up against many unpleasant things. The list narrowed down until Bob’s eyes rested on Tully’s broad shoulders. The other was hunched over his desk, apparently gazing through a nearby window and certainly not much concerned with the work on the desk in front of him. Was Tully linked up with the mystery? Could he have been the one inside who had learned of the arrival of the precious paper and given the information to someone outside? Bob didn’t want to believe that, yet he had checked all of the others off his list. His eyes rested on Arthur Jacobs, the filing chief. Could it have been Jacobs? It was possible, but Bob scouted serious consideration of the thought, for Jacobs’ heart was too much in his work and his pride was too great for such a deed. Bob felt up against a blank wall. It was his job to sit tight in the office on the supposition that someone inside must have given out information. He felt now that there was little chance that this had been the case. There were plenty of other loopholes for the information to leak out and Bob was convinced that it must have leaked before the paper came into the filing office. At five o’clock the other clerks left their desks, but Tully, Bob and the filing chief lingered in the office. Jacobs spoke to Tully. “I don’t care what you’re doing outside this office,” he said, “but as long as you’re here and at your desk you’ll have to work. I don’t believe you did five minutes work this afternoon.” Tully’s eyes dropped and he studied the toes of his shoes. His voice was heavy when he spoke. “I know I didn’t get much work done,” he said. “But I was so blamed excited over being a federal agent and then trying to figure out how this information could have leaked out. I’ll be back to earth again tomorrow.” “I’m glad of that for we need your help in getting this mess straightened out.” Tully nodded and went on, while Bob hesitated. “I wanted just a word with you alone,” he told the filing chief. “I didn’t say anything earlier, but I’m also working on this case as a provisional federal agent. That means I’m on probation. If I make good on this case there may be a permanent job waiting for me.”