But, somehow, he now felt that the girl was, for the time being, safe under the care of Forrester; and the temptation to let the adventure take its own course was once again irresistible. There was a peculiar fascination in his position; these men, for some reason, regarded him as being of vast importance in a mysterious and far-reaching game. That they would halt at nothing was amply proven; but Kenyon had always felt a certain zest for danger; and then there was the girl, whose brilliant face had so attracted him. She was concerned in some strange way; she stood in peril, perhaps, of her life. So he resolved once more to stick, no matter where the current took him, and until the end of it all was reached. “I did not think it possible that he even knew of her existence,” remarked Farbush, after a long silence, during which he and Hong Yo had been exchanging looks. “This must be the mysterious ‘he’ of whom the old man spoke last night in Selden’s Square,” thought Kenyon. “It’s delicate ground, and I must be careful.” He rested his chin in the palm of one hand and his elbow upon the table. “He knows a great deal more than you’d think,” he replied. “Handle him carefully,” implored Farbush. “Don’t let him suspect you. Above all, don’t tell him more than you must.” “There is no great danger of that,” smiled Kenyon. “You forget that I don’t know any too much, myself.” There came a sudden grin upon the gaunt face of Hong Yo; his wasted fingers pattered upon the table’s edge as though in applause. He bent toward Kenyon. “If there is one thing that I like more than another about you,” he said in his slow, distinct English, “it is that continual guard which you hold up. In my experience I have found that the man who consistently denies having special knowledge never betrays himself.” Kenyon was suddenly called upon to struggle against an almost irresistible desire to laugh; it was a difficult task, but he succeeded in retaining his gravity. The thing was really absurd! “Has he said anything about what his plans are, now that the old man is dead?” inquired Farbush, eagerly. Kenyon never quite understood what prompted him to do it, but under a sudden impulse, he answered: “He does not know that the old man is dead.” Had a thunderbolt split the roof and dashed everything in the room into splinters it could not have had a more startling effect upon the two men who sat facing him. Instantly they were upon their feet, their hands wildly gesticulating, their lips babbling in amazement. “Why,” almost shouted Farbush, beating the table, “I never dreamed of such luck. It’s like a miracle.” Their sudden outbreak had dismayed Kenyon; for a moment he feared that he had somehow betrayed himself. But at the words of Farbush, he drew a breath of relief. “Luck’s with me!” he thought. “But in the future I’ll refrain from taking chances.” “I would have thought that your very appearance would have told him all,” spoke Hong Yo.