“I mean that if it became known that I had secreted you in my room and said nothing about it, it would, in a measure, place me in the light of being an accomplice,” returned the hammer-thrower, ignoring the point in Bob’s last words. “I don’t know whether anything will be discovered missing here or not, but if there should be—?” “Things will be discovered missing, all right,” returned Bob. “What was that you dropped out of the window in my room last night?” The hammer-thrower stared at him. “I?—your room?” he said at length very slowly, with the most genuine amazement written all over his serious reliable features. “You! My room!” repeated Bob. “You didn’t expect me to come back. I gave you quite a surprise, didn’t I? You are certainly some sprinter.” Still the hammer-thrower continued to stare. “Mad!” he said at last. “I hardly credited it before, but now—That private sanatorium!—No doubt, it was best.” Bob laughed. “That sanatorium fits in fine, doesn’t it? You’ll be trying the little abduction act next, yourself, I suppose.” “I’m trying to make up my mind whether you aren’t really a dangerous person to be at large,” said the hammer-man heavily. “You might say something like that to some one else. You appear absolutely irresponsible.” “I might,” observed Bob tentatively. Oh, if he only could! “However, I hardly think you will,” remarked the other in his heaviest manner. “By the way, you play pretty good billiards.” “Thanks awfully. Want to play?” “Don’t mind.” And the hammer-thrower took down a cue. “I should dearly like to beat you,” said Bob in wistful tones. “And I should as dearly like not to be beaten by you, or any one else,” returned the other. “I know,” conceded Bob, not without a touch of admiration, “you’re a great chap for winning prizes and things. You’ve taken no end of cups, haven’t you? I mean, legitimately.” “Yes; I usually go in to win.” The other professed not to hear Bob’s last words. “And you’ve been feted some, in consequence, too, haven’t you?” said Bob suddenly. “You were at the Duke of Somberland’s, I remember.” Meaningly. He remembered, too, that articles of great value had disappeared from the duke’s place at the same time. “I believe I was. Met no end of interesting people!” “And weren’t you at Lord Tumford’s?” Bob recalled reading how jewels had mysteriously vanished in the case of Lord Tumford’s guests, also. “Yes, got asked over for the shooting. Believe I did very well for an American not accustomed to the British method of slaughter.” “No doubt,” said Bob. The hammer-thrower was getting bigger in his way every moment. Now he had become an operator of international importance. “Speaking about winning, you were on the losing team at college, weren’t you?” he observed significantly. “Quite so!” answered Bob. “We worked awfully hard and ought to have won, but fate, I guess, was against us.”