The boy seemed to understand, and flew for the stairs, the elevator being out of sight. Dick ran to the door, to behold Bradner standing on the sidewalk as if undecided which way to pursue his course. But presently he walked slowly up the street. Dick followed him, and had gone less than half a block when Tom joined him, all out of breath with running. "What is it, Dick?" "It was Bradner, who came to smooth matters over. I am following him to see if I can't get on to his game." "Oh, what nerve! I should think he would have been afraid to come near us." "He's a bold one, Tom, and we must look out that we don't get bit by him." Henry Bradner covered half a dozen blocks of the street upon which the hotel was located, and then turned into a narrow thoroughfare running toward the Chicago river. Here were a number of low drinking places, and in front of one of these he stopped. Instead of entering the resort by the main door he went in through a side hallway, which led to a rear room. "Perhaps he is stopping here," suggested Tom, as the two lads came to a halt. "Well, if that is so we had better remember the place," answered Dick. There was an alleyway alongside of the house, and looking into this the boys saw a light shining out of several windows near the rear of the resort. "Let us take a peep into the windows," suggested Dick, and led the way. To let out some of the tobacco smoke the windows were pulled down partly from the top. The bottom sashes were covered with half-curtains of imitation lace, but so flimsy that the boys saw through them without difficulty. Bradner had just entered this rear room, and was gazing around inquiringly. Now he stalked over to a table near one of the windows, and dropped heavily into a chair. "I'm afraid the jig is up," he said, addressing somebody on the opposite side of the table. "What has happened," asked the other person, and now the two Rover boys were amazed to learn that the party was Dan Baxter. The bully had changed his dress and also the style of wearing his hair, and was sporting a pair of nose glasses. "They have met the real Jack Wumble, and found out that I was fooling them about the hotel." "That's too bad," cried Dan Baxter. "You must have made a bad break of it, Bradner." "I did my best, but I couldn't keep them from looking around, although I offered to conduct them. You can bet if I had had them under my care they wouldn't have got near the Western Palace, nor Jack Wumble either." "Did you have a man ready to play the part of Wumble?" questioned Dan Baxter, after the burly one had ordered drinks for the two. "Yes, I had Bill Noxton all cocked and primed. But now our cake is dough--and after all the trouble I've taken for your father, too!" And Henry Bradner uttered a snort of disgust. "Did you warn this Noxton?" "Oh, yes, and I put a flea into the ear of the hotel clerk, too. But the thing is, what do you suppose your father will want done next?"