“Iwaslookingforworklastnightonthewharf。Heemployedmetocarryhisbagtothehotel，sayingIwastowaitforhim。Ihavewaitedsincenineo’clocklastnightinhisroom，andhehasnotcome。“
　　“Whatareyouinsuchad——dhurryfor？He’strustedyou；can’tyoutrusthim？You’vegothisbag？“returnedthepresident。
　　Randolphwassilentforamoment。“Iwanttoknowwhattodowithit，“hesaid。
　　“Hangontoit。What’sinit？“
　　“Someclothesandapursecontainingaboutseventydollars。“
　　“Thatoughttopayyouforcarryingitandstorageafterward，“saidthepresidentdecisively。“Whatmadeyoucomehere？“
　　“Ifoundthisaddressinthepurse，“saidRandolph，producingit。
　　“Isthatall？“
　　“Yes。“
　　“Andthat’stheonlyreasonyoucamehere，tofindanownerforthatbag？“
　　“Yes。“
　　Thepresidentdisengagedhimselffromthecounter。
　　“I’msorrytohavegivenyousomuchtrouble，“saidRandolphconcludingly。“Thankyouandgood-morning。“
　　“Good-morning。“
　　AsRandolphturnedawayherememberedtheadvertisementforthenightwatchman。Hehesitatedandturnedback。Hewasalittlesurprisedtofindthatthepresidenthadnotgoneaway，butwaslookingafterhim。
　　“Ibegyourpardon，butIseeyouwantanightwatchman。CouldI
　　do？“saidRandolphresolutely。
　　“No。You’reastrangerhere，andwewantsomeonewhoknowsthecity，——Dewslake，“hereturnedtothereceivingteller，“who’stakenLarkin’splace？“
　　“Nooneyet，“returnedtheteller，“but，“headdedparenthetically，“JudgeBoompointer，youknow，wasspeakingtoyouabouthisson。“
　　“Yes，Iknowthat。“ToRandolph:“Goroundtomyprivateroomandwaitforme。Iwon’tbeaslongasyourfriendlastnight。“Thenheaddedtoanegroporter，“Showhimroundthere。“
　　Hemovedaway，stoppingatoneortwodeskstogiveanordertotheclerks，andoncebeforetherailingtospeaktoadepositor。
　　Randolphfollowedthenegrointothehall，througha“boardroom，“
　　andintoahandsomelyfurnishedoffice。Hehadnottowaitlong。
　　Inafewmomentsthepresidentappearedwithanoldermanwhosegraysidewhiskers，cutwithacertainprecision，andwhoseblackandwhitecheckedneckerchief，tiedinaformalbow，proclaimedtheEnglishrespectabilityoftheperiod。Atthepresident’sdictationhetookdownRandolph’sname，nativity，lengthofresidence，andoccupationinCalifornia。Thisconcluded，thepresident，glancingathiscompanion，saidbriefly，——
　　“Well？“
　　“Hehadbettercometo-morrowmorningatnine，“wastheanswer。
　　“AndaskforMr。Dingwall，thedeputymanager，“addedthepresident，withagesturethatwasatonceanintroductionandadismissaltoboth。
　　RandolphhadheardbeforeofthisstartlingbrevityofSanFranciscobusinessdetail，yethelingereduntilthedoorclosedonMr。Dingwall。Hisheartwashonestlyfull。
　　“Youhavebeenverykind，sir，“hestammered。
　　“Ihaven’trunhalftherisksofthatchaplastnight，“saidthepresidentgrimly，theleasttremorofasmileonhissetmouth。
　　“IfyouwouldonlyletmeknowwhatIcandotothankyou，“
　　persistedRandolph。
　　“Trustthemanthattrustsyou，andhangontoyourtrust，“returnedthepresidentcurtly，withapartingnod。
　　ElatedandfilledwithhighhopesasRandolphwas，hefeltsometrepidationinreturningtohishotel。Hehadtofacehislandlordwithsomeexplanationofthebank’sinquiry。Thelandlordmightconsiderhimanimpostor，andrequesthimtoleave，or，moredreadfulstill，insistuponkeepingthebag。Hethoughtofthepartingwordsofthepresident，andresolvedupon“hangingontohistrust，“whateverhappened。Buthewasagreeablysurprisedtofindthathewasreceivedattheofficewithacertainrespectnotusuallyshowntothecasualvisitor。“Yourcallerturnedupto-
　　day“——Randolphstarted——“fromtheEurekabank，“continuedtheclerk。“Sorrywecouldnotgiveyourname，butyouknowyouonlyleftadepositinyourletterandsentamessengerforyourkeyyesterdayafternoon。Whenyoucameyouwentstraighttoyourroom。
　　Perhapsyouwouldliketoregisternow。“Randolphnolongerhesitated，reflectingthathecouldexplainitalllatertohisunknownbenefactor，andwrotehisnameboldly。Buthewasstillmoreastonishedwhentheclerkcontinued:“Ireckonitwasacaseofidentifyingyouforadraft——itoftenhappenshere——andwe’dhavebeengladtodoitforyou。Butthebankclerkseemedsatisfiedwithoutdescriptionofyou——you’reeasilydescribed，youknowthisinaparenthesis，complimentarilyintended——“soit’sallright。Wecangiveyouabetterroomlowerdown，ifyou’regoingtostaylonger。“Notknowingwhethertolaughortobeembarrassedatthisextraordinaryconclusionoftheblunder，Randolphansweredthathehadjustcomefromthebank，adding，withapardonabletouchofyouthfulpride，thathewasenteringthebank’semploymentthenextday。
　　Anotherequallyagreeablesurprisemethimonhisarrivaltherethenextmorning。Withoutanypreviousexaminationortrialhewasinstalledatonceasacorrespondingclerkintheplaceofonejustpromotedtoasub-agencyintheinterior。Hishandwriting，hisfacilityofcomposition，hadallbeentakenforgranted，orperhapspredicateduponsomethingthepresidenthaddiscernedinthatonequick，absorbingglance。Heventuredtoexpressthethoughttohisneighbor。
　　“Theboss，“saidthatgentleman，“cansizeamaninandout，andallthrough，inaboutthetimeitwouldtakeyouandmetotellthecolorofhishair。HEdon’tmakemistakes，youbet；butoldDingy——
　　thedep——yousettledwithyourclothes。“
　　“Myclothes！“echoedRandolph，withafaintflush。
　　“Yes，Englishcut——thatfetchedhim。“
　　Andsohisworkbegan。Hisliberalsalary，whichseemedtohimmunificentincomparisonwithhispreviousearningsinthemines，enabledhimtokeepthecontentsofthebuckskinpurseintact，andpresentlytoreturntheborrowedsuitofclothestotheportmanteau。Themysteriousownershouldfindeverythingaswhenhefirstplaceditinhishands。Withthequickmobilityofyouthandhisownrathermercurialnature，hehadbeguntoforget，orperhapstobealittleashamedofhiskeenemotionsandsufferingsthenightofhisarrival，untilthatnightwasrecalledtohiminasingularway。
　　OneSundayavaguesenseofdutytohisstillmissingbenefactorimpelledhimtospendpartofhisholidayuponthewharves。Hehadrambledawayamongtheshippingatthenewerpierslips，andhadgazedcuriouslyupondeckswhereafewseamenorofficersintheirSundayapparelsmoked，paced，oridled，tryingvainlytorecognizethefaceandfigurewhichhadoncebrieflyflashedoutundertheflickeringwharflamp。Wasthestrangerashipmasterwhohadsuddenlytransferredhimselftoanothervesselonanothervoyage？
　　Acrowdwhichhadgatheredaroundsomelandingstepsnearershorepresentlyattractedhisattention。Heloungedtowarditandlookedovertheshouldersofthebystandersdownuponthesteps。Aboatwaslyingthere，whichhadjusttowedinthebodyofamanfoundfloatingonthewater。Itsfeatureswerealreadyswollenanddefacedlikeahideousmask；itsbodydistendedbeyondallproportion，eventotheburstingofitssoddenclothing。A
　　tremulousfascinationcameoverRandolphashegazed。Thebystandersmadetheirbriefcomments，afewauthoritativelyandwiththeairofnauticalexperts。
　　“Beeninthewateraboutaweek，Ireckon。“
　　“’Boutthattime；justruckedupandfloatedwiththetide。“
　　“Notmuchchanceo’spottin’himbyhislooks，eh？“
　　“Noranythingelse，youbet。Reg’larlycleanedout。Lookathispockets。“
　　“Wharf-ratsorshanghaimen？“
　　“Betwixtandbetween，Ireckon。Manwhofoundhimsayshe’sgotanuglycutjustbackofhishead。Yecan’tseeitforhisfloatinghair。“
　　“Wonderifhegotitbeforeorafterhegotinthewater。“
　　“That’sforthecoronertosay。“
　　“Muchheknowsorcares，“saidanothercynically。“It’lljustbeacaseof’Founddrowned’andtheregulartwenty-fivedollarstoHIM，andfivetothemanwhofoundthebody。That’senoughforhimtoknow。“
　　Thrilledwithavagueanxiety，Randolphedgedforwardforanearerviewofthewretchedderelictstillgentlyundulatingonthetowline。Thecloserhelookedthemorehewasimpressedbytheideaofsomefrightfulmaskthathidafacethatrefusedtoberecognized。Buthisattentionbecamefixedonamanwhowasgivingsomeadviceorordersandexaminingthebodyscrutinizingly。
　　Withoutknowingwhy，Randolphfeltasuddenaversiontohim，whichwasdeepenedwhentheman，liftinghishead，metRandolph’seyeswithapairofshiftingyetaggressiveones。Hebore，nevertheless，anodd，weirdlikenesstothemissingmanRandolphwasseeking，whichstrangelytroubledhim。Asthestranger’seyesfollowedhimandlingeredwithasingularcuriosityonRandolph’sdress，herememberedwithasuddenalarmthathewaswearingthesuitofthemissingman。Aquickimpulsetoconcealhimselfcameuponhim，butheasquicklyconqueredit，andreturnedtheman’scoldstarewithanangerhecouldnotaccountfor，butwhichmadethestrangeraverthiseyes。Thenthemangotintotheboatbesidetheboatman，andthetwoagaintowedawaythecorpse。Theheadroseandfellwiththeswell，asifnoddingafarewell。Butitwasstilldefiant，underitsshapelessmask，thatevenworeasmile，asiftriumphantinitshideoussecret。