"Oh, I know your plot!" she went on rapidly. "It's every detail! The first step was to ruin the water-works, so the city would sell and sell cheap. The first step toward ruining the system was to get my father out of the way. And so this charge against my father was trumped up to ruin him. The leader of the whole plot is Mr. Blake; his right hand man yourself. Oh, I know every detail of your infamous scheme!" He stared at her. His lips had slowly parted. "What--you say that Mr. Blake----" "Oh, you are trying to play your part of innocence well, but you cannot deceive me!" she cried with fierce contempt. "Yes, Mr. Blake is the head of it. I just came from his office. There's not a doubt in the world of his guilt. He has admitted it. Oh----" "Admitted it?" "Yes, admitted it! Oh, it was a fine and easy way to make a fortune--to dupe the city into selling at a fraction of its value a business that run privately will pay an immense and ever-growing profit." He had stood up and was scratching his bristling hair. "My God! My God!" he whispered. She rose. "And you!" she cried, glaring at him, her voice mounting to a climax of scorn, "You! Don't walk the room"--he had begun to do so--"but look me in the face. To think how you have attacked my father, maligned him, covered him with dishonour! And for what? To help you carry through a dirty trick to rob the city! Oh, I wish I had the words to tell you----" But he had begun again to pace the little room, scratching his head, his eyes gleaming behind the heavy glasses. "Listen to me!" she commanded. "Oh, give me all the hell you want to!" he cried out. "Only don't ask me to listen to you!" He paused abruptly before her, and, eyes half-closed, stared piercingly into her face. As she returned his stare, it began to dawn upon her that he did not seem much taken aback. At least his guilt bore no near likeness to that of Mr. Blake. Suddenly he made a lunge for the door, jerked it open, and his voice descended the stairway, out-thundering the press. "Jake! Oh, Jake!" A lesser roar ascended: "Yes!" "Stop the press! Rip open the forms! Get the men at the linotypes! And be alive down there, every damned soul of you! And you, Billy Harper, I'll want you here in two minutes!" He slammed the door, and turned on Katherine. She had looked upon excitement before, but never such excitement as was flaming in his face. "Now give me all the details!" he cried. She it was that was taken aback. "I--I don't understand," she said. "No time to explain now. Looks like I've been all wrong about your father--perhaps a little wrong about you--and perhaps you've been a little wrong about me. Let it go at that. Now for the details. Quick!" "But--but what are you going to do?"