"
"You forget, Miss Holcomb, my promise to Chick. I loved your
father, and I was fond of Watson. It's a great secret and, if the
professor is right, one which man has sought through the ages. I'd
be a coward to forgo my duty. If I fail, I have another to take my
place."
"Oh," she said, "it's horrible. First father; then Chick; now you;
and afterwards it will be Mr. Fenton."
"It is our duty," I returned. "One by one. Though we may fail,
each one of us may pass a bit more on to his successor. In the end
we win. It is the way of man."
I had my way. She turned over all the data and notes that had been
left by the professor; but I never found a thing in them that
could be construed to an advantage. My real quest was to trace
down the jewel. The man Kennedy's full name was, I learned, Budge
Kennedy. He had lived in Oakland. It was late in the afternoon
when I parted with Miss Holcomb and started for the city.
I remember it well because of a little incident that occurred
immediately after our parting. I was just going down the steps
when I looked up one of the side streets. A few students were
loitering here and there. But there was one who was not a student.
I recognised him instantly, and I wondered. It was the Rhamda.
This was enough to make me suspicious. But there was one thing
more. Farther up the street was another figure.
When I came down the steps the Rhamda moved, and his move was
somehow duplicated by the other.
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