had resolved to stick together. Drebber answered that the
matter was a delicate one, and that he must go alone.
I could not catch what Stangerson said to that, but the other
burst out swearing, and reminded him that he was nothing more
than his paid servant, and that he must not presume to
dictate to him. On that the Secretary gave it up as a bad
job, and simply bargained with him that if he missed the last
train he should rejoin him at Halliday's Private Hotel;
to which Drebber answered that he would be back on the platform
before eleven, and made his way out of the station.

"The moment for which I had waited so long had at last come.
I had my enemies within my power. Together they could
protect each other, but singly they were at my mercy. I did
not act, however, with undue precipitation. My plans were
already formed. There is no satisfaction in vengeance unless
the offender has time to realize who it is that strikes him,
and why retribution has come upon him. I had my plans
arranged by which I should have the opportunity of making the
man who had wronged me understand that his old sin had found
him out. It chanced that some days before a gentleman who
had been engaged in looking over some houses in the Brixton
Road had dropped the key of one of them in my carriage.
It was claimed that same evening, and returned; but in the
interval I had taken a moulding of it, and had a duplicate
constructed. By means of this I had access to at least one
spot in this great city where I could rely upon being free
from interruption. How to get Drebber to that house was the
difficult problem which I had now to solve.