Jackson. Policeman, sir. [Exit. Capper (turning sharply). Who's that man? Old Morton. Jackson, clerk. Capper. Umph! Been here long? Old Morton. A year. He was appointed by my son. Capper. Know anything of his previous life? Old Morton (stiffly). I have already told you he is an appointee of my son's. Capper. Yes! (Aside.) "Like master, like man." (Aloud.) Well, to business. We have worked up the robbery. We have reached two conclusions,--one, that the work was not done by professionals; the other, consequent upon this, that you can't recover the money. Old Morton. Excuse me, sir, but I do not see the last conclusion. Capper. Then listen. The professional thief has only one or two ways of disposing of his plunder, and these ways are always well known to us. Good! Your stolen coin has not been disposed of in the regular way, through the usual hands which we could at any time seize. Of this we are satisfied. Old Morton. How do you know it? Capper. In this way. The only clew we have to the identification of the missing money were two boxes of Mexican doubloons. Old Morton (aside). Mr. Castro's special deposit! He may have reason for his interest. (Aloud.) Go on. Capper. It is a coin rare in circulation in the interior. The night after the robbery, the dealer of a monte-table in Sacramento paid out five thousand dollars in doubloons. He declared it was taken in at the table, and could not identify the players. Of course, OF COURSE! So far, you see, you are helpless. We have only established one fact, that the robber is--is--(significantly) a gambler. Old Morton (quietly). The regular trade of the thief seems to me to be of little importance if you cannot identify him, or recover my money. But go on, sir, go on: or is this all? Capper (aside). The old fool is blind. That is natural. (Aloud.) It is not all. The crime will doubtless be repeated. The man who has access to your vaults, who has taken only thirty thousand dollars when he could have secured half a million,--this man, who has already gambled that thirty thousand away,--will not stop there. He will in a day or two, perhaps to-day, try to retrieve his losses out of YOUR capital. I am here to prevent it. Old Morton (becoming interested). How? Capper. Give me, for forty-eight hours, free access to this building. Let me conceal myself somewhere, anywhere, within these walls. Let it be without the knowledge of your clerks, even of YOUR SON! Old Morton (proudly). Mr. Alexander Morton is absent to-day. There is no other reason why he should not be here to consent to the acts of his partner and father. Capper (quickly). Very good. It is only to insure absolute secrecy. Old Morton (aside). Another robbery might excite a suspicion, worse for our credit than our actual loss. There is a significant earnestness about this man, that awakens my fears. If Alexander were only here. (Aloud.) I accept. (CAPPER has been trying doors R. and L.) Capper. What room is this? (At R.)