第10章
guessnowwe’lltakealookatyourfacesothattherewon’tbeanyquestionaboutrecognitionthenexttimewemeet。“
TheAdventurerlaughedsoftly。
“Therewillbenoneonmypart，“hesaidcalmly。“It’sDanglar，isn’tit？Iamsurelynotmistaken。ParsonDanglar，alias-ah！
Pleasedon’tdothat！“
ItseemedtoRhodaGraythatithappenedinthespaceoftimeitmighttakeawatchtotick:Thenewcomerstoopingtothefloor，andliftingthecandlewiththeobviousintentionofthrustingitintotheAdventurer’sface-aglintofmetal，astheAdventurerwhippedarevolverfromthesidepocketofhiscoat-andthen，howtheygotthereshecouldnottell，itwasdonesoadroitlyandswiftly，thethumbandforefingeroftheAdventurer’slefthandhadclosedonthecandlewickandsnuffeditout，andthegarretwasindarkness。
Therewasasavageoath，asnarlofragefromthemanwhomtheAdventurerhadaddressedasDanglar；thenaninstantssilence；andthentheAdventurer’svoice-fromthedoorway:
“Ibegofyounottoventyourdisappointmentonthelady-Danglar。
Iassureyouthatsheisinnowayresponsibleformyvisithere，and，asfarasthatgoes，neversawmebeforeinherlife。Also，itisonlyfairtotellyou，incaseyoushouldconsiderleavingheretoohurriedly，thatIamreallynotatallabadshot-eveninthedark。Ibidyougood-night，Danglar-andyoumydearlady！“
Danglar’svoiceroseagaininafloodofprofanerage。Hestumbledandmovedaroundinthedark。
“Damnit！“heshouted。“Wherearethematches？Where’sthelamp？
Thiscursedcandle’sputenoughtothebadalready！Doyouhear？
Where’sthelamp？“
“It’soverdereondefloor，busttopieces，“mumbledRhodaGray。
“Youse’llfindthematchesondewashstand，an-“
“What’stheidea？“Therewasasudden，steel-likenotedominatingtheangrytones。“Whatareyouhandingmethathog-washlanguagefor？Eh？It’sdamnedqueer！There’sbeendamnedqueerdoingsaroundhereeversincelastnight！See？What’stheidea？“
RhodaGrayfeltherfacewhiteninthedarkness。Itwastheslipshehadfeared；theslipthatshehadhadtotakethechanceofmaking，andwhich，ifitwerenotretrieved，andinstantlyretrieved，nowthatitwasmade，meantdiscovery，andafterthat-Sheshiveredalittle。
“Youneedn’tloseyourhead，justbecauseyou’velostyourtemper！“
shesaidtartly，inaguardedwhisper。“Thedoorintothehallisstillwideopen，isn’tit？“
“Oh，allright！“hesaid，histonesasortofsullenadmissionthatherretortwasjustified。“Butevennowyourvoicesoundsoffcolor。“
RhodaGraybridled。
“Doesit？“shesnappedathim。“I’vegotacold。Maybeyou’dgetonetoo，andmaybeyourvoicewouldbeoffcolor，ifyouhadtoliveinadumplikethis，and-“
“Oh，allright，allright！“hebrokeinhurriedly。“ForHeaven’ssakedon’tstartarow！Forgetit！See？Forgetit！“Hewalkedovertothedoor，peeredout，sworesavagelytohimself，shutthedoor，heldthecandleuptocirclethegarret，andscowledasitsraysfellupontheshatteredpiecesofthelampinthecornerthen，returning，hesetthecandledownuponthechairandbegantopacerestlessly，threeorfourstepseachway，upanddowninfrontofthebed。
RhodaGray，fromtheedgeofthebed，shiftedbackuntilhershouldersrestedagainstthewall。Danglar，too，wasdressedlikeagentleman-butDanglar’sfacewasnotappealing。Thelittleroundblackeyeswereshifty，theyseemedtopossessnopupilswhatever，andtheyrovedconstantly；therewasahard，unyieldingthinnessaboutthelips，andthefaceitselfwasthin，almostgaunt，asthoughtheskinhadhadtoaccommodateitselftomorethanwasexpectedofit，andwaselasticallystretchedoverthecheek-bones。
“Well，I’mlistening！“jerkedoutthemanabruptly。“YouknewourgameatSkarbolov’swasqueered。Yougotthe’seven-three-nine，’
didn’tyou？“
“Yes，ofcourse，Igotit，“answeredRhodaGray。“Whataboutit？“
“Fortwoweeksnow，yes，morethantwoweeks“-theman’svoiceraspedangrily-“thingshavebeengoingwrong，andsomeonehasbeenbuttinginandgettingawaywiththegoodsunderournoses。
Weknownow，fromlastnight，thatitmusthavebeentheWhiteMoll，forone，thoughit’snotlikelysheworkedallalone。SkeenydroppedtothefactthatthepolicewerewiseaboutSkarbolov’s，andthat’swhywecalleditoff，andthe’seven-three-nine’wentout。TheymusthavegotwisethroughshadowingtheWhiteMoll。See？Thentheypinchher，butshemakesherget-away，andcomeshere，and，ifthedopeI’vegotisright，youhandRoughRorkeone，andhelphertobeatitagain。Itlooksblamedfunny-doesn’tit？-whenyoucometoconsiderthatthere’saleaksomewhere！“
“Isthatso！“RhodaGrayflashedback。“AnddidyouknowbeforelastnightthatitwastheWhiteMollwhowasqueeringourgame？“
“IfIhad，“themangrittedbetweenhisteeth，“I’d-“
“Well，then，howdidyouexpectmetoknowit？“demandedRhodaGrayheatedly。“AndiftheWhiteMollhappenstoknowGypsyNan，assheknowseverybodyelsethroughherjelliesandcustardsandfakecharity，andhappenstobenearherewhenshegetsintotrouble，andbeatsitforherewiththepoliceonherheels，andasksforhelp，whatdoyouexpectGypsyNan’sgoingtodoifshewantstostandanychanceofstickingaroundtheseparts-asGypsyNan？“
Themanpausedinhiswalk，and，jerkingbackhishat，drewhishandnervouslyacrosshisforehead。
“Youmakemetired！“saidRhodaGraywearily。“Doyouthinkyoucouldfindthedoorwithouttoomuchtrouble？“
Danglarresumedhispacingbackandforth，butmoreslowlynow。
“Oh，Iknow！Iknow，Bertha！“heburstoutheavily。“I’mtalkingthroughmyhat。You’vegottheroughestjobofanyofus，oldgirl。
Don’tmindwhatI’msaying。Something’sbadlywrong，andI’mhalfcrazy。It’scertainnowthattheWhiteMoll’stheonethat’sbeendoingus，andwhatIreallycamedownhereforto-nightwastotellyouthatyourjobfromnowonwastogettheWhiteMoll。Youhelpedherlastnight。Shedoesn’tknowyouareanybodybutGypsyNan，andsoyou’retheonepersoninNewYorkshe’lldaretrytocommunicatewithsoonerorlater。Understand？That’swhatIcamefor，nottotalklikeafool-butthatfellowIfoundherestartedmeoff。
Whoishe？Whatdidhewant？“
“HewantedtheWhiteMoll，too，“saidRhodaGray，withashortlaugh。
“Oh，hedid，eh！“Danglar’slipstwistedintoasudden，mercilesssmile。“Well，goon！Whoishe？“
“Idon’tknowwhoheis，“RhodaGrayansweredalittleimpatiently。
“Hesaidhewasanadventurer-ifyoucanmakeanythingoutofthat。
HesaidhegottheWhiteMollawayfromRoughRorkelastnight，afterRorkehadarrestedher；andthenhedopedtherestoutthesameasyouhave-thathecouldfindtheWhiteMollagainthroughGypsyNan。
Idon’tknowwhathewantedherfor。“
“That’sbetter！“snarledDanglar，themercilesssmilestillonhislips。“Ithoughtshemusthavehadapal，andweknownowwhoherpalis。It’sopenandshutthatshe’ssittingsotightshehasn’tbeenabletogetintotouchwithhim，andthat’swhat’sworryingMr。Adventurer。“
RhodaGray，saveforanodofherhead，madenoanswer。
Danglarlaughedsuddenly，asthoughinrelief；then，comingclosertothebed，plungedhishandintohiscoatpocket，andtossedhandfulofjewelrycarelesslyintoRhodaGray’slap。
“IfeelbetterthanIdid！“hesaid，andlaughedagain。“It’sacinchnowthatwe’llgetthemboththroughyou，anditsacinchthattheWhiteMollwon’tcutinto-night。Putthosesparklersawaywiththerestuntilwegetreadyto’fence’them。“
RhodaGraydidnotspeak。Mechanically，asthoughshewerelivingthroughsomehideousnightmare，shebegantoscoopupthegemsfromherlapandallowthemtotricklebackthroughherfingers。Theyflashedandscintillatedbrilliantly，eveninthemeagerlight。
Theyseemedalivewithsomepremonitory，balefulfire。
“Yes，there’ssomeprettyslickstuffthere，“saidDanglar，withanappraisingchuckle；“butthere’llbesomethingto-nightthat’llmakeallthatbunchlooklikechicken-feed。Theboysareatworknow，andwe’llhaveoldHayden-Bond’snecklaceinanotherhour。
Skeeny’sgottheSparrowtiedupintheoldroombehindShluker’splace，andoncewe’resurethere’snoback-fireanywhere，theSparrowwillchirphislastchirp。“Helaughedoutsuddenly，and，leaningforward，clappedRhodaGrayexultantlyontheshoulder。“Itwasliketakingcandyfromakid！TheSparrowandtheoldmanfellforthesick-mother-needing-her-son-all-nightstuffwithoutbattingalid；buttheSparrowhasn’tbeenholdingtheoldlady’shandatthebedsideyet。Wetookcareofthat。“
AgainRhodaGraymadenocomment。Shewondered，asshegrippedattheringsandbroochesinhand，sofiercelythatthesettingsprickedintotheflesh，ifherfacemirroredinanywaythecold，sickmiserythathadsuddenlytakenpossessionofhersoul。TheSparrow！SheknewtheSparrow；sheknewtheSparrow’ssickmother。