About the middle of the morning Mappin was sitting in his office, which was situated above a store opposite the second-class hotel. The hotel was full, for some loggers had come in the previous night, and a number of railroad carpenters, whose work had been interfered with by a snowstorm, were staying there. Mappin had heard of Andrew's return and he was in a thoughtful mood, though he had so far avoided meeting with any of the party. He could not, however, continue to do so, and he felt that he might as well get the interview with Allinson over as soon as possible. Even if Allinson suspected treachery, he had no proof, and the worst charge he could make would be one of carelessness. On the whole, it had been a relief to see that the man had escaped: he had acted in the heat of passion when he cut off his supplies and had afterward experienced a twinge of remorse. Mappin felt that he was a match for the fellow, and he had gone a needless length in plotting to destroy him. He was thinking over the matter when he heard some one ask for him in the store, through which it was necessary to pass to reach his office. Then there were footsteps on the stairs and he looked up in surprise as Carnally came in. It was Allinson he had expected to see. Carnally was smartly dressed, and though his face was thin and worn it wore a look of satisfaction that puzzled Mappin. "Where's your boss this morning?" Mappin inquired. "I've been waiting for him." "At Graham's," said Carnally, sitting down. "I've come instead. Mr. Allinson's got into a habit of leaving matters to me. There are things I do better than he can. I'm not so fastidious as he is." "Then let me know what you want." "It's about those provisions you sent up. Mr. Allinson told you where to make the caches?" "Yes; I carefully put it down." "Got the paper or the notebook?" "I can't say where the notebook is, but I believe I could find it." Carnally smiled, as if he were enjoying the situation. "If you produce the book, it will be because it doesn't agree with what Mr. Allinson says he told you; but that wouldn't prove much. You're capable of writing down what you meant to do and not what he said. If you're not able to find it, the reason is that you thought of the trick you played us after you saw him." "Then you didn't find the provisions I sent as easily as you expected?" "No; you know we didn't." Mappin had plenty of courage. "Well, what about it?" he asked with a little smile of scorn. "I know the hand you're playing from; it's a pretty good one. Mr. Allinson believes he gave you orders to make the caches in certain places; you contend he told you somewhere else, and there was nobody about when you were talking to decide the thing. Somehow an unfortunate mistake was made." "It looks like that," said Mappin, feeling uneasy at the man's ready acquiescence in the situation.