Stephen presented his check and without comment the woman handed him his coat. With trembling hand he dived into the deep pocket and from it drew forth the red bill book which he gave to his father. "There it is, Dad, safe and sound!" he gasped. Instantly the clerk was in their path. "I beg pardon, sir," said he with deference, "but does that pocketbook belong to you?" Mr. Tolman wheeled about. "Eh--what did you say?" he inquired. "I asked, sir, if that pocketbook was your property?" repeated the clerk. Mr. Tolman faced his inquisitor. "What business is that of yours?" he demanded curtly. "I am sorry, sir, to appear rude," the hotel employee replied, "but we have been asked to be on the lookout for a young lad who rode this morning on one of the Fifth Avenue busses where a valuable pocketbook was lost. Your son tallies so well with the description that--" "It was I," put in Stephen eagerly, without regard for consequences. "Who wants me?" With a smile of eagerness he turned, expecting to encounter the genial face of his acquaintance of the morning. Then he would smile, hold out the pocketbook, and they would laugh together as he explained the adventure, and perhaps afterward have luncheon in company. Instead no familiar form greeted him. On the contrary the slender man who had been standing beside the clerk came forward. Mr. Tolman sensed the situation in a second. "You mean somebody thinks my son took the pocketbook?" asked he indignantly, as he confronted the clerk and his companion. "It is not my affair, sir, and I am sorry it should happen in our hotel," apologized the clerk. "Perhaps if you will just explain the whole matter to this gentleman--" he broke off, saying in an undertone to the man at his elbow. "This is your boy, Donovan." The tall man came nearer. "You are a detective?" asked Mr. Tolman bluntly. "Well, something of the sort, sir," admitted the man called Donovan. "It is occasionally my business to hunt people up." "And you have been sent to hunt my son up?" Donovan nodded. Stephen turned white and his father put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "My son and I," he replied, addressing the detective quietly, "can explain this entire affair to you and will do so gladly. The boy did find the pocketbook but he was ignorant of its value because he has not even looked inside it. In fact, that he had the article in his possession did not come into his mind until a few moments ago. If he had known the thing was valuable, do you suppose he would have left it in his ulster pocket and checked the coat in a public place like this?" The detective made no reply. "We both shall be very glad," went on Mr. Tolman firmly, "to go with you to headquarters and straighten the matter out." "There may be no need of that, sir," Donovan responded with a pleasant smile. "If we can just talk the affair over in a satisfactory way--"