"Mistah Snyder, seh--he wuz heah dis arfternoon, yo knows, seh!" "I didn't know it," said Croyden. "Why yo sont 'im, seh." "_I_ sent him! I don't know the man." "Dat's mons'us 'culiar, seh--he said yo sont 'im. He com'd 'torrectly arfter yo lef! Him an' a'nudder man, seh--I didn't know the nudder man, hows'ever." "What did they want?" Croyden asked. "Dey sed yo warn dem to look over all de place, seh, an' see what repairs wuz necessary, and fix dem. Dey wuz heah a'most two hours, I s'pose." "This is most extraordinary!" Croyden exclaimed. "Do you mean they were in this house for two hours?" "Yass, seh." "What were they doing?" "'Zaminin the furniture everywhere. I didn't stays wid em, seh--I knows Mistah Snyder well; he's bin heah off'n to wuk befo' yo cum, seh. But I seed dem gwine th'oo de drawers, an' poundin on the floohs, seh. Dey went down to de cellar, too, seh, an wuz dyar quite a while." "Are you sure it was Snyder?" Croyden asked. "Sut'n'y! seh, don't you t'inks I knows 'im? I knows 'im from de time he wuz so high." Croyden nodded. "Go down and tell Snyder I want to see him, either to-night or in the morning." The negro bowed, and departed. Croyden got up and went to the escritoire: the drawers were in confusion. He glanced at the book-cases: the books were disarranged. He turned and looked, questioningly, at Macloud--and a smile slowly overspread his face. "Well, the tall gentleman has visited us!" he said. "I wondered how long you would be coming to it!" Macloud remarked. "It's the old ruse, in a slightly modified form. Instead of a telephone or gas inspector, it was a workman whom the servant knew; a little more trouble in disguising himself, but vastly more satisfactory in results." "They are clever rogues," said Croyden--"and the disguise must have been pretty accurate to deceive Moses." "Disguise is their business," Macloud replied, laconically. "If they're not proficient in it, they go to prison--sure." "And if they _are_ proficient, they go--sometimes." "Certainly!--sometimes." "We'll make a tour of inspection--they couldn't find what they wanted, so we'll see what they took." They went over the house. Every drawer was turned upside down, every closet awry, every place, where the jewels could be concealed, bore evidence of having been inspected--nothing, apparently, had been missed. They had gone through the house completely, even into the garret, where every board that was loose had evidently been taken up and replaced--some of them carelessly. Not a thing was gone, so far as Croyden could judge--possibly, because there was no money in the house; probably, because they were looking for jewels, and scorned anything of moderate value. "Really, this thing grows interesting--if it were not so ridiculous," said Croyden. "I'm willing to go to almost any trouble to convince them I haven't the treasure--just to be rid of them. I wonder what they will try next?"