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Rh rooms and cursing the confusion of his head which made it so hard to think, for hours went over and over in his head the chain of evidence he possessed. He could find, however, even yet nothing to alter his conclusions that had seemed so correct and proved so futile. Only one fact he could not fit into its place. Max had left at Hereford's apartments some strange telephone message about a duplicate box. Therefore, time after time, Hereford went to the window or the door, hoping to see Max returning. But when Max, just at dusk, climbed the stairs like a man very leg-weary, the little German appeared only worried and would answer no questions about the box or anything else.

Max had been long from home—so first he must know, in spite of his evident uneasiness, how his animals were doing; also his