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Rh and he was no nearer its solution than when he had been summoned.

He dragged himself out of bed and picked up the telephone receiver.

"Is that you, Barry? This is Jim Dilke speaking. I'm sending you around by messenger a report on that matter we were discussing yesterday."

"Yes?" The haze of sleep cleared like magic from Odell's brain. "Did you find any dope on how that party managed to recoup his losses and keep his head above water?"

"Surest thing you know. He's been working through a dummy company and simply cleaned up in the past three weeks; got back all he lost in the last year and then some. I had him doped all wrong." Dilke's cheerful, brisk tones fell leadenly on the detective's ears. "He had nerve, all right; took the remainder of his holdings, got on the right side of the market at last, and tripled his capital the first day. Since then there has been no holding him. He has been speculating a little on the side under his own name to keep his connection with the new company under cover—perfectly legitimate, you know—and lost consistently, but not enough to even make a dent in what he has rolled up through the dummy concern. There is a certain clique of big men who have been out after him for a year or more, since he broke up a corner they were engineering; but when they get on to this new move of his they are going to be a pretty sick bunch."

"Thanks, old man." Odell tried to make his voice cordial. "It was mighty good of you to take all this trouble."