Knew I had seen that mug before." Left alone, except for the infantry man at the other side of the entrance, and with nothing to do beyond keeping back the little crowd of curious watchers thronging the steps, Hamlin interested himself in the assembly, although keenly conscious of those two men who continued to linger, staring into the brilliantly lighted room.

That the two were closely involved with Mrs.Dupont in some money-making scheme, closely verging on crime, was already sufficiently clear to the Sergeant's mind.

He had overheard enough to grasp this fact, yet the full nature of the scheme was not apparent.

Without doubt it involved Gaskins as a victim; possibly Barrett also, but Hamlin was not inclined to interfere personally for the protection of either of these officers.
They could look after themselves, and, if they succumbed to the charms of the lady, and it cost something, why, that was none of his affair.
But somehow the suspicion had come to him that he had accidentally stumbled upon a more complicated plot than mere blackmail.

Mrs.
Dupont's intimacy with Molly, and the use she was making of her distant relationship with the Major to further her ends, made him eager to delve deeper into her real purpose.