"Hello, Porter!" he yelled in his ear.
The prospector probably grunted, although Frank could hear nothing.
"I want to talk with you for a few minutes," Merry went on, in a manner calculated to disarm any suspicions Porter may have had.

"Come up to the super's office, will you ?" He stepped back.

The prospector sat still on the keg for a moment, then slowly knocked the ashes from his pipe and stood up.

Frank was congratulating himself that Porter was to make for Pardo's office without any further persuasion; but in this he was mistaken.
Clancy stood on the prospector's right, Merry in front of him, and Ballard on the left--between the spot where, Porter was standing and the opening that led into the feed loft.

The prospector slipped his pipe into his pocket, moving in a slow, sluggish way that suggested weariness.
He was not weary, however.