"My dear Poundstone," he said earnestly, "I am not a man to forget
clever work. At the proper time I shall--" He smiled his radiant
smile. "You understand, of course, that I am speaking for and can
make you no firm promises. However--" He smiled again. "All I have to
say is that you'll do!"

"Thank you," said Henry Poundstone, Junior. "Thank you ever so much."




CHAPTER XVII


An experience extending over a very active business career of thirty
years had convinced Colonel Seth Pennington of the futility of
wracking his brains in vain speculation over mysteries. In his day he
had been interested in some small public-service corporations, which
is tantamount to saying that he knew peanut politics and had learned
that the very best way to fight the devil is with fire. Frequently he
had found it of great interest and profit to him to know exactly how
certain men spent their time and his money, and since he was a very
busy man himself, naturally he had to delegate somebody else, to
procure this information for him. When, therefore, the Northern
California Oregon Railroad commenced to encroach on the Colonel's
time-appropriation for sleep, he realized that there was but one way
in which to conserve his rest and that was by engaging to fathom the
mystery for him a specialist in the unravelling of mysteries. In
times gone by, the Colonel had found a certain national detective-
agency an extremely efficient aid to well-known commercial agencies,