He was not surprised to see Hunt the next afternoon, though every one else in the office was astonished to see him looking for a mere reporter. "Do you remember what you said to me last night?" asked Hunt rather nervously. "About what?" "About somebody called Shanghai Smith?" He stared out of the window as he spoke. "I remember, Hunt." "Can it be done?" "Can what be done?" "Could I get rid of that Gawthrop for a month or two?" "I shouldn't be surprised, if you put up the dollars." "Will you help me?" "And get myself--disliked?" He was going to say--"get myself in the penitentiary," but on reflection he did not desire to frighten Hunt. After all, the affair would cause so much laughter that legal proceedings were not likely to rise out of it. "I don't want you to show. Only give me a pointer. Could you bring this Smith to me?" Gardiner stabbed his desk with a pen-knife, and considered the matter for a moment. "Look here," he said, "I want to deal as squarely as I can with you. I don't want either you or Gawthrop to marry this particular lady." Hunt stared at him. "You don't? Oh! I say, Gardiner----" and he burst into laughter, which Gardiner apparently did not resent. "Yes, I know I'm a newspaper dog, and so on; let that be. If I chose to crawl down and go East, I could stack dollar for dollar with half of you in time. What I'm telling you is this: I think Gawthrop has more show than you, and I'd be glad to get him out of the way, just as he'd no doubt be glad to get you out. I'll help if you'll hold your tongue about me, whatever happens." "Very well," said Hunt; "I give you my word." "Whatever happens?" "Whatever happens." "Of course I shall do everything I can to win." "That's only natural," said Hunt; "but I'll bet you a thousand dollars that if I get Gawthrop out of the way I'll marry Miss Atherton inside of three months." "Whatever happens?" "Whatever happens." "Then I take that bet," said Gardiner, "and to-morrow you shall meet Shanghai." But when Hunt had gone, Gardiner winked steadily at nothing and stroked his chin. "Great Scott, this _is_ a game," he said. "I wonder where Gawthrop is?" But before he found out he sat down and wrote a letter to the elder Gardiner in New York. It was late that evening before he went down to that undesirable quarter of San Francisco known as the Barbary Coast, where Shanghai Smith had his sailor-robbing den located.