"Eighty thousand, that's all, and he's got it on him." "You're wrong there; he was broke when he landed. I ought to know." "Oh no! He came down on the Santa Cruz; I've seen the purser. He travelled under the name of Jefferson Locke. There's no mistake, and he couldn't have blown it all. No, it's sewed into his shirt, and I'm here to grab it." Weeks whistled in amazement. "He IS a shrewd one. Eighty thou--Lord, I wish I'd known that! He's here, all right, working for the railroad and living at Panama. He's made good, too, and got some influential friends. Oh, this is great!" "Working, hey? Clever stall! Do you see that?" Williams inclined his head for a fuller display of the disfiguration over his ear. "He hung that on me, with a bottle. I damn near died." He laughed disagreeably. "He'll go back, and he'll go back quick. How do I get to Panama?" Weeks consulted his watch hastily. "You've missed the last train; but we'll go over together in the morning. I want to have a hand in this arrest for reasons of my own; I don't like him or his influential friends." He began to chuckle ponderously. "No, I don't like his influential friends, in particular." While this scene was being enacted on the north side of the Isthmus, Kirk Anthony, over at the Tivoli Hotel, was making himself ready for the ball with particular pains. Even his personal appearance might have a bearing upon the outcome of this adventure, and he dared not overlook the slightest advantage. Allan regarded him admiringly from many angles. "Oh, Master h'Auntony," he exclaimed, rapturously, "you are beautiful!" "Thanks! Again thanks! Now, can you remember to do as I have told you?" "I would die--" "DON'T say that again, I'm too nervous. Here are your instructions, once more. Keep both doors to this room locked and stand by the one to the veranda! Don't let any one in except Mr. Runnels and the man he'll bring. DON'T--LEAVE--THIS--SPOT, no matter what happens. Does that penetrate your teakwood dome? Does your ivory cue-ball encompass that thought?" "I shall watch this h'apartment carefully, never fear." "But I do fear. I'm scared to death. My hands are go cold they are brittle. Remember, when I knock, so, let me in instantly, and keep your wits about you." "H'Allan never fails, sar. But what is coming to pahss?" "Never mind what is coming to pass. This is going to be a big night, my boy--a very big night." Kirk strolled out into the hall and made his way to the lobby.