"Dear me!" exclaimed the scientist irritably. "That's bad. Well, has it any knots in it?" he asked with marked resignation.
Hatch felt that he had committed the unpardonable sin. "Yes," he replied after an examination. "It has two knots in it-just plain knots-about two inches apart."
"Single or double knots?"
"Single knots."
"Excellent! Now, Mr. Hatch, listen. Untie one of those knots-it doesn't matter which one-and carefully smooth out the string. Then take it and put it back where you found it. 'Phone me as soon after that as you can."
"Now, to-night?"
"Now, immediately."
"But-but--" began the astonished reporter.
"It is a matter of the utmost consequence," the irritated voice assured him. "You should not have taken the string. I told you merely to see what was there. But as you have brought it away you must put it back as soon as possible. Believe me, it is of the highest importance. And don't forget to 'phone me."
The sharp, commanding tone stirred the reporter to new action and interest. A car was just going past the door, outward bound. He raced for it and got aboard. Once settled, he untied one of the knots, straightened out the string, and fell to wondering what sort of fool's errand he was on.
"Randall's Crossing!" called the conductor at last.
Hatch left the car and retraced his tortuous way along the road and through the wood to the tall tree, found the hole, and had just thrust in his hand to replace the string when he heard a woman's voice directly behind him, almost in his ear. It was a calm, placid, convincing sort of voice. It said:
"Hands up!"
Hatch was a rational human being with ambitions and hopes for the future; therefore his hands went up without hesitation. "I knew something would happen," he told himself.
He turned to see the woman. In the darkness he could only dimly trace a tall, slender figure. Steadily poised just a couple of dozen inches from his nose was a revolver. He could see that without any difficulty. It glinted a little, even in the gloom, and made itself conspicuous.
"Well," asked the reporter at last, as he stood reaching upward, "it's your move."
"Who are you?" asked the woman. Her voice was steady and rather pleasant.
The reporter considered the question in the light of all he didn't know. He felt it wouldn't be a sensible thing to say just who he was. Somewhere at the end of this thing The Thinking Machine was working on a problem; he was presumably helping in a modest, unobtrusive sort of way; therefore he would be cautious.
"My name is Williams," he said promptly. "Jim Williams," he added circumstantially.
"What are you doing here?"
Another subject for thought. That was a question he couldn't answer; he didn't know what he was doing there; he was wondering himself. He could only hazard a guess, and he did that with trepidation.
"I came from him," he said with deep meaning.
"Who?" demanded the woman suspiciously.
"It would be useless to name him," replied the reporter.
"Yes, yes, of course," the woman mused. "I understand."
There was a little pause. Hatch was still watching the revolver. He had a lively interest in it. It had not moved a hair's breath since he first looked at it; hanging up there in the night it fairly stared him out of countenance.
"And the string?" asked the woman at last.
Now the reporter felt that he was in the mire. The woman herself relieved this new embarrassment.
"Is it in the tree?" she went on.
"Yes."
"How many knots are in it?"
"One."
"One?" she repeated eagerly. "Put your hand in there and hand me the string. No tricks, now!"
Hatch complied with a certain deprecatory manner which he intended should convey to her the impression that there would be no tricks. As she took the string her fingers brushed against his. They were smooth and delicate. He knew that even in the dark.
"And what did he say?" she went on.
Having gone this far without falling into anything, the reporter was willing to plunge-felt that he had to, as a matter of fact.
"He said yes," he murmured without shifting his eyes from the revolver.
"Yes?" the woman repeated again eagerly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," said the reporter again. The thought flashed through his mind that he was tangling up somebody's affairs sadly-he didn't know whose. Anyhow, it was a matter of no consequence to him, as long as that revolver stared at him that way.
"Where is it?" asked the woman.
Then the earth slipped out from under him. "I don't know," he replied weakly.
"Didn't he give it to you?"
"Oh, no. He-he wouldn't trust me with it."
"How can I get it, then?"
"Oh, he'll fix it all right," Hatch assured her soothingly. "I think he said something about to-morrow night."
"Where?"
"Here."
"Thank God!" the woman gasped suddenly. Her tone betrayed deep emotion; but it wasn't so deep that she lowered the revolver.
There was a long pause. Hatch was figuring possibilities. How to get possession of the revolver seemed the imminent problem. His hands were still in the air, and there was nothing to indicate that they were not to remain there indefinitely. The woman finally broke the silence.
"Are you armed?"