“'Yes, sir! Robbed! Robbed! ROBBED! What do you think I came here for? And why do I stay here all this time? 'Cause I LIKE it? 'Cause I can't afford a better place? No, sir! By the great horn spoon! I come here because I thought in this forsaken hole I could get lost and be safe. And now--' “He tore around like a water spout, Grace trying to calm him, and Henry and Suzette, the maid, groanin' and sobbin' accompaniments in the corner. I looked at the dresser. There was silver-backed brushes and all sorts of expensive doodads spread out loose, and Miss Robinson's watch and a di'mond ring, and a few other knickknacks. I couldn't imagine a thief's leavin' all that truck, and I said so. “'Them?' sputters Pa, frantic. 'What the brimstone blazes do you think I care for them? I could buy that sort of stuff by the car-load, if I wanted to. But what's been stole is--Oh, get out and leave me alone! You're no good, the lot of you!' “'Father has had a valuable paper stolen from him,' explains Grace. 'A very valuable paper.' “'Valuable!' howls her dad. 'VALUABLE! Why, if Gordon and his gang get that paper, they've got ME, that's all. Their suit's as good as won, and I know it. And to think that I've kept it safe up to within a month of the trial, and now--Grace Sterzer, you stop pattin' my head. I'm no pussy-cat! By the--' And so on, indefinite. “When he called his daughter Sterzer, instead of Robinson, I cal'lated he was loony, sure enough. But Peter T. slapped his leg. “'Oh!' he says, as if he'd seen a light all to once. 'Ah, NOW I begin to get wise. I knew your face was--See here, Mr. Sterzer--Mr. Gabriel Sterzer--don't you think we'd better have a real, plain talk on this matter? Let's get down to tacks. Was the paper you lost something to do with the Sterzer-Gordon lawsuit? The Aluminum Trust case, you know?' “The old man stopped dancin', stared at him hard, and then set down and wiped his forehead. “'Something to DO with it?' he groans. 'Why, you idiot, it was IT! If Gordon's lawyers get that paper--and they've been after it for a year--then the fat's all in the fire. There's nothin' left for me to do but compromise.'