"To the limit," said Jack. "Here comes your friend. Won't this arrest ball things up? Shall I rustle bail?" "No," said Darrow. "I want to think. All I need is all the papers. I'll be out by ten to-morrow morning, sure." "Why are you sure of that?" "_Because by that hour McCarthy will have disappeared_," said Percy Darrow. The man in the gray suit, having finished his scrutiny, lounged forward. "You are Mr. Darrow," he stated. "Sure I am, my amiable but obvious sleuth," drawled that young man. "Lead on." He nodded a farewell to Jack, and linked his arm in that of the officer. After a few moments he burst into an irrepressible chuckle. "The fat, thick-necked, thick-witted, old fool!" said he. CHAPTER VIII PERCY DARROW'S THEORY Percy Darrow in the police station, where he had been assigned an unused office instead of a cell, amused himself reading the newspapers, of which he caused to be brought in a full supply. Theories had begun to claim their share of the space which, up to now, the fact stories had completely monopolized. Darrow, his feet up, a cigarette depending from one corner of his mouth, read them through to the end. Then he indulged the white walls of his little apartment with one of his slow smiles. The simplest of the theories had to do with comets. The most elaborate traced out an analogy between the "blind spot" in vision and a "point of rest" in physical manifestations--this "point of rest" had just now happened to drift to a crowded center, and so became manifest. "Ingenious but fantastic youth," was Percy Darrow's tribute to the author, Professor Eldridge of the university. The "human-interest" stories of both the evening before and those in the extras describing the latest freak in the Atlas Building, Darrow passed over with barely a glance. But certain figures he copied carefully into his notebook. When he had found all of these, and had transcribed them, they appeared about as follows: Atlas--Wednesday, 5:25. 3:00 (about): 9 hr. 35 min. General--Thursday, 6:00. 7:56 (exact): 1 hr. 56 min. Atlas--Friday, 10:10. 10:48 (exact): 38 min. On the basis of these latter figures he made some calculations which, when finished, he looked on with doubtful satisfaction. "Need more statistics," said he to himself, "before I can pose as a prophet. Just now I'm merely a guesser." By now it was afternoon. An official came to announce visitors, and a moment later Helen and her brother came in. As Percy's case was merely one of detention, or for some other obscurer reason, known only to those who took their orders from McCarthy, the three were left alone to their own devices. At the sight of Helen's trim tailor-clad figure Percy's expression brightened to what, in his case, might almost be called animation. He swept aside the accumulation of papers, and made room for both. After the first greetings and exclamations, Helen demanded to know particulars and prospects.