“All made out of the confiding public, with the aid of me--and Connor and Massey----” “Massey is a pig!” the old man interjected spitefully. Jimmy puffed a cloud of tobacco smoke. “Wrung with sweat and sorrow from foolish young men who backed the tiger and played high at Reale’s Unrivaled Temple of Chance, Cairo, Egypt--with branches at Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez.” The figure in the wadded gown writhed in a paroxysm of silent merriment. “How many men have you ruined, Reale?” asked Jimmy. “The Lord knows!” the old man answered cheerfully; “only three as I knows of--two of ’em’s dead, one of ’em’s dying. The two that’s dead left neither chick nor child; the dying one’s got a daughter.” Jimmy eyed him through narrowed lids. “Why this solicitude for the relatives--you’re not going----?” As he spoke, as if anticipating a question, the old man was nodding his head with feverish energy, and all the while his grin broadened. “What a one you are for long words, Jimmy! You always was. That’s how you managed to persuade your swell pals to come an’ try their luck. Solicitude! What’s that mean? Frettin’ about ’em, d’ye mean? Yes, that’s what I’m doin’--frettin’ about ’em. And I’m going to make, what d’ye call it--you had it on the tip of your tongue a minute or two ago?” “Reparation?” suggested Jimmy. Old Reale nodded delightedly. “How?” “Don’t you ask questions!” bullied the old man, his harsh voice rising. “I ain’t asked you why you broke into my house in the middle of the night, though I knew it was you who came the other day to check the electric meter. I saw you, an’ I’ve been waitin’ for you ever since.” “I knew all about that,” said Jimmy calmly, and flicked the ash of his cigarette away with his little finger, “and I thought you would----” Suddenly he stopped speaking and listened. “Who’s in the house beside us?” he asked quickly, but the look on the old man’s face reassured him. “Nobody,” said Reale testily. “I’ve got a special house for the servants, and they come in every morning after I’ve unfixed my--burglar-alarms.” He grinned, and then a look of alarm came into his face. “The alarms!” he whispered; “you broke them when you came in, Jimmy. I heard the signal. If there’s some one in the house we shouldn’t know it now.” They listened. Down below in the hall something creaked, then the sound of a soft thud came up. “He’s skipped the rug,” whispered Jimmy, and switched out the light. The two men heard a stealthy footstep on the stair, and waited. There was the momentary glint of a light, and the sound of some one breathing heavily. Jimmy leant over and whispered in the old man’s ear. Then, as the handle of the door was turned and the door pushed open, Jimmy switched on the light.