And when, in the uncertain dusk, a wagon drew up at 478 and two sack-coated, cloth-capped men began carrying parcels up the stairs, is it any wonder that Berg, watching from the window of his delicatessen store, said to his clerk: 

“Dot furrier that rents der rooms by der third floor is putting some more things in storage over the summer, yet.”

And when the wagon finally drove away, neglectfully leaving the two men behind, it is not surprising that the fancy grocer did not notice it.  And, then, when the two policemen who had been on duty during the afternoon, came out, carelessly left the door unlocked, looked up to make sure that they had left none of the windows open, and then strode away with a satisfied air that follows a duty well done, who so keenly watched as to suspect?

The shadows on the second floor lengthened and grew grayer; they thickened in the corners; pieces of furniture grew vague and monstrous as the darkness began to cling to them and their outlines became lost; suits of armor loomed menacingly out of the gloom, the last rays of light striking palely upon helm or gorget; hideous gods of wood and stone smiled evilly at the two watchers.

“There was food in the bundles which we carried up, then,” commented Pendleton, as he lay back on the old claw-footed sofa.

“Yes,” answered his friend.  “The person or persons whom we expect will hardly come to-night, though we, of course, don’t know; if they fail to appear we shall be forced to stick close to these rooms during the whole of to-morrow and also to-morrow night.  Perhaps it will even be longer.”

“In that case,” said Pendleton, a little disconsolately, “the eatables will be very welcome.  But I hope we won’t have to stay long enough to finish them.”

“Perhaps,” said Ashton-Kirk, “I’ve let you in for too hard a task in this, Pen?”

The other rose up instantly.

“You couldn’t give me too much to do in this matter,” declared he, earnestly.  “I would do it alone if you were not here, and I had brains enough, Kirk.  The thing must end.  If it goes on much longer and I keep seeing those infernal insinuations in the papers, I’ll go completely off my chump.”

There was a little silence; then Ashton-Kirk said: 

“I never knew that you were—­ah—­this way, old chap, until the other day.  How long has it been going on?”

“Why, for years, I think,” answered Pendleton.  “Being very distantly related, Edyth and I saw quite a deal of each other when she was a slip of a girl.  And she was a stunner, Kirk, even then.  Kid-like, I fancied I’d get it all over with when the proper time came; but somehow I never got around to it.  She turned out to be a dickens of a strong character, you see; and she expected so much of life that I got the notion that perhaps I wasn’t just the right sort of fellow to realize her ideals.