“I found it so, I assure you.  So far as any usable evidence was concerned, I was no better off than before; it was merely my assertion against their denial—­one man against four.  But I have had a full week, and it has not been wasted.  I needn’t bore you with the mechanical details.  One of my men followed Bucks’ messenger to Chicago—­he wouldn’t trust the banks here or the mails—­and we know now, know it in black on white, with the proper affidavits, that the draft was for two hundred thousand dollars, payable to the order of Jasper G. Bucks.  The ostensible consideration was the transfer from Bucks to Rumford of a piece of property in the outskirts of Gaston.  I had this piece of land appraised for me to-day by two disinterested citizens of Gaston, and they valued it at a possible, but highly improbable, three thousand.”

“Oh, how clumsy!” said Portia, in fine scorn.  “Does his Excellency imagine for a moment that any one would be deceived by such a primitive bit of dust-throwing?” and Ormsby also had something to say about the fatal mistakes of the shrewdest criminals.

“It was not so bad,” said Kent.  “If it should ever be charged that he took money from Rumford, here is a plain business transaction to account for it.  The deed, as recorded, has nothing to say of the enormous price paid.  The phrasing is the common form used when the parties to the transfer do not wish to make the price public:  ’For one dollar to me in hand paid, and other valuable considerations.’  Luckily, we are able to establish conclusively what the ‘other valuable considerations’ were.”

“It seems to me that these documents arm and equip you for anything you want to do,” said Loring, polishing his eye-glasses after his ingrained habit.

Kent shook his head.

“No; thus far the evidence is all circumstantial, or rather inferential.  But I picked up the final link in the chain—­the human link—­yesterday.  One of the detectives had been dogging Duvall.  Two days ago the senator disappeared, unaccountably.  I put two and two together, and late last evening took the liberty of breaking into his house.”

“Alone?” said Elinor, with the courage-worshiping light in the blue-gray eyes.

“Yes; it didn’t seem worth while to double the risk.  I did it rather clumsily, I suppose, and my greeting was a shot fired at random in the darkness—­the senator mistaking me for a burglar, as he afterward explained.  There was no harm done, and the pistol welcome effectually broke the ice in what might otherwise have been a rather difficult interview.  We had it out in an upper room, with the gas turned low and the window curtains drawn.  To cut a long story short, I finally succeeded in making him understand what he was in for; that his confederates had used him and thrown him aside.  Then I went out and brought him some supper.”

Ormsby smote softly upon the edge of the table with an extended forefinger.