"Oncet he caught me in his house. He said the next time he'd skin me alive. If I hadn't been his son he'd a skun me that time. Do you get me, Miss Barbara? He's my father, sure. But--" Now chagrin, wonder, and perplexity were written in Bubbles's face. "Why," he said, "it makes everything different. He never done anything for me; but if he's my father--" "You can't very well spy on him, can you, Bubbles? You've got to stand aside and leave all that to others." "I got to see the Head, Miss Barbara. I got to ask him." "Who is the head, Bubbles?" "I'd tell you in a minute, Miss Barbara, only we're all swore to tell no one. But what he says goes with me. It's got to be that way, else we'd never get nowhere." XXXVII Mr. Abe Lichtenstein looked up from a mass of writing. "So," he smiled, "you got your few days off?" "Mr. Lichtenstein," said Bubbles, his eyes big, his voice trembling, "an awful thing has happened." "You can tell me nothing bad but I can tell you something worse. What has happened?" "The old un is my father!" "Yes," said Lichtenstein, "I have thought of that. You are sure?" "I'm sure enough not to want to have anything more to do with huntin' him. But that's for you to say. I do what you say." "I won't ask you to go on," said Lichtenstein; "but you're still with us, Bubbles? You're still for cleaning up the dirty house and making it fit for human beings to live in?" "Yes, sir." "As far as your father's concerned you'll be neutral." "Meaning I won't do nothing against him, nor for him?" The red-headed Jew nodded. "You won't do like Rose?" "Rose?" Lichtenstein's face became very cold and grim. "She's gone over to him body and soul. Bubbles, and heart and mind. For weeks she's fooled us with nonsense--stuff they've made up together. Worse, she's broken every oath she ever swore. Our strength was secrecy. Well, your father knows the name of every agent in our society. Oh, he's got it all out of her! Everything!" "Does he know that you are--" "Yes, confound him, he does. And my life is about as safe in this city as that of the average cat in the Italian quarter. My life isn't the important thing. It's what I've got in my head--cold facts. See all this stuff? That's what's in my head going down on paper for the first time. It's to guide the man that takes my place--to help him over some of the hard places--three hundred sheets of it already, and only a week since I began." "Rose!" exclaimed Bubbles. "There was none better--none smarter--till she fell in love--_fell_ in love!" "Does he know I'm one of us, Mr. Lichtenstein?"