So absorbed did he become that he was somewhat startled when a man sat
down beside him. He looked, up to meet the steel gray eyes and
glittering glasses of the chief. Again there swept over him a sense of
familiarity, the feeling that somewhere, at some time, he had met this
man before. It passed almost as quickly as it came, but left him
puzzled.
"Of course your name is not Smith, nor do you come from Reno," said the
man in gray abruptly. "I've seen you somewhere before, but I can't place
you. Are you a newspaperman?"
"I've been thinking the same of you," returned Bob. "No, I'm just plain
tourist."
"I don't imagine you're particularly interested in Lucky," said the gray
man. "Why did you come?"
"Just idleness and curiosity," replied Bob frankly.
"Of course we try to get the most value in return for our expenditures
on these excursions by taking men who are at least interested in the
country," suggested the gray man.
"By Jove, I never thought of that!" cried Bob. "Of course, I'd no
business to take that free ticket. I'll pay you my fare."
The gray man had been scrutinizing him intensely and keenly.
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