She winced a little at the bluntness of his speech; then recognizing she was in the wrong, she grew angry with herself at her indiscretion. “If the book is--where these papers were, it can be secured,” Jimmy continued, regaining his suavity. “If the professor is still alive he will be found, and by to-morrow I shall have in my possession a list of every book that has ever been written by a professor of anything.” Some thought tickled him, and he laughed for the second time that afternoon. “There’s a fine course of reading for us all,” he said with a little chuckle. “Heaven knows into what mysterious regions the literary professor will lead us. I know one professor who has written a treatise on Sociology that runs into ten volumes, and another who has spoken his mind on Inductive Logic to the extent of twelve hundred closely-printed pages. I have in my mind’s eye a vision of three people sitting amidst a chaos of thoughtful literature, searching ponderous tomes for esoteric references to bolts, door, mouth, et cetera.” The picture he drew was too much for the gravity of the girl, and her friendship with the man who was professedly a thief, and by inference something worse, began with a ripple of laughter that greeted his sally. Jimmy gathered up the papers, and carefully replaced them in the envelope. This he handed to Angel. “Place this amongst the archives,” he said flippantly. “Why not keep it here?” asked Angel in surprise. Jimmy walked to one of the three French windows that opened on to a small balcony. He took a rapid survey of the street, then beckoned to Angel. “Do you see that man?” He pointed to a lounger sauntering along on the opposite sidewalk. “Yes.” Jimmy walked back to the center of the room. “That’s why,” he said simply. “There will be a burglary here to-night or to-morrow night. People aren’t going to let a fortune slip through their fingers without making some kind of effort to save it.” “What people?” demanded the girl. “You mean those dreadful men who took me away?” “That is very possible,” said Jimmy, “although I was thinking of somebody else.” The girl had put on her wrap, and stood irresolutely near the door, and Angel was waiting. “Good-by,” she said hesitatingly. “I--I am afraid I have done you an injustice, and--and I want to thank you for all you have undergone for me. I know--I feel that I have been ungracious, and----” “You have done me no injustice,” said Jimmy in a low voice. “I am all that you thought I was--and worse.” She held out her hand to him, and he raised it to his lips, which was unlike Jimmy. CHAPTER VIII OLD GEORGE