Norton was excited, but I could not help feeling that he was also relieved.  “I’ve been preparing for the time when I’d have to cut loose,” he went on finally.  “Now, I suppose it is coming.  Ah, well, perhaps it will be better—­who can tell?  I may not do so much, but it will all be mine, with no strings attached.  Perhaps, after all, it is for the best.”

Talking over his troubles seemed to do Norton some good, for I am sure that he left us in a better frame of mind than we had found him.

Kennedy wished him good-luck, and we again entered the lift.

We found Whitney in an even greater state of excitement than Norton had been.  I am sure that if it had been any one else than Kennedy he would have thrown him out, but he seemed to feel that he must control himself in our presence.

“What do you know about that fellow Norton, up at your place?” he demanded, almost before we had seated ourselves.

“A very hard-working, ambitious man his colleagues tell me,” returned Kennedy, purposely I thought, as if it had been a red rag flaunted before a bull.

“Hard-working—­yes,” bellowed Whitney.  “He has worked me hard.  I send him down to Peru—­yes, I put up most of the money.  Then what does he do?  Just kids me along, makes me think he’s accomplishing a whole lot—­when he’s actually so careless as to let himself be robbed of what he gets with my money.  I tell you, you can’t trust anybody.  They all double-cross you.  I swear, I think Lockwood and I ought to go it alone.  I’m glad I found that fellow out.  Let himself be robbed—­a fine piece of work!  Why, that fellow couldn’t see through a barn door—­after the horse was stolen,” he concluded, mixing his metaphors in his anger.

“Evidently some one has been telling you something,” remarked Kennedy.  “We tried to see you twice this morning, but couldn’t find you.”

His tone was one calculated to impress Whitney with the fact that he had been watching and had some idea of where he really was.  Whitney shot a sharp glance at Craig, whose face betrayed nothing.

“Ambitious—­I should say so,” repeated Whitney, reverting to Norton to cover up this new change of the subject.  “Well—­let him be ambitious.  We can get along without him.  I tell you, Kennedy, no one is indispensable.  There is always some way to get along—­if you can’t get over an obstacle, you can get around it.  I’ll dispense with Mr. Norton.  He’s an expensive luxury, anyhow.  I’m just as well satisfied.”

There was real vexation in Whitney’s voice, yet as he talked he, too, seemed to cool down.  I could not help thinking that both Norton and Whitney were perhaps just a bit glad at the break.  Had both of them got out of each other all that they wanted—­Norton his reputation and Whitney—­what?

He cooled down so rapidly now that almost I began to wonder whether his anger had been genuine.  Did he know more about the dagger than appeared?  Was this his cover—­to disown Norton?