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we entered a bare, unfurnished room such as Hall
Pycroft had described. At the single table sat the
man whom we had seen in the street, with his evening
paper spread out in front of him, and as he looked up
at us it seemed to me that I had never looked upon a
face which bore such marks of grief, and of something
beyond grief--of a horror such as comes to few men in
a lifetime. His brow glistened with perspiration, his
cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a fish's belly,
and his eyes were wild and staring. He looked at his
clerk as though he failed to recognize him, and I
could see by the astonishment depicted upon our
conductor's face that this was by no means the usual
appearance of his employer.

"You look ill, Mr. Pinner!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I am not very well," answered the other, making
obvious efforts to pull himself together, and licking
his dry lips before he spoke. "Who are these
gentlemen whom you have brought with you?"

"One is Mr. Harris, of Bermondsey, and the other is
Mr. Price, of this town," said our clerk, glibly.
"They are friends of mine and gentlemen of experience,
but they have been out of a place for some little
time, and they hoped that perhaps you might find an
opening for them in the company's employment."

"Very possibly! Very possibly!" cried Mr. Pinner with
a ghastly smile. "Yes, I have no doubt that we shall
be able to do something for you. What is your
particular line, Mr. Harris?"

"I am an accountant," said Holmes.

"Ah yes, we shall want something of the sort. And
you, Mr. Price?"

"A clerk," said I.

"I have every hope that the company may accommodate
you. I will let you know about it as soon as we come
to any conclusion. And now I beg that you will go.
For God's sake leave me to myself!"

These last words were shot out of him, as though the
constraint which he was evidently setting upon himself
had suddenly and utterly burst asunder. Holmes and I
glanced at each other, and Hall Pycroft took a step
towards the table.

"You forget, Mr. Pinner, that I am here by appointment
to receive some directions from you," said he.

"Certainly, Mr. Pycroft, certainly," the other resumed
in a calmer tone. "You may wait here a moment; and
there is no reason why your friends should not wait
with you. I will be entirely at your service in three
minutes, if I might trespass upon your patience so
far." He rose with a very courteous air, and, bowing
to us, he passed out through a door at the farther end
of the room, which he closed behind him.

"What now?" whispered Holmes. "Is he giving us the
slip?"

"Impossible," answered Pycroft.

"Why so?"

"That door leads into an inner room."

"There is no exit?"

"None."

"Is it furnished?"

"It was empty yesterday."

"Then what on earth can he be doing? There is
something which I don't understand in this manner. If
ever a man was three parts mad with terror, that man's
name is Pinner. What can have put the shivers on

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