As he went on down he passed a group of laborers who were bringing stairway material to the carpenters.

“I don’t know but what you was talking pretty loud,” said Max to Peterson, in a low voice.  “Here’s some of ’em now.”

“They didn’t hear nothing,” Peterson replied, and the two went back to the distributing floor.  They stood in a shadow, by the scale hopper, waiting for the reappearance of Grady’s companion.  He had evidently gone on to the upper floors, where he could not be distinguished from the many other moving figures; but in a few minutes he came back, walking deliberately toward the stairs.  He looked at Peterson and Max, but passed by without a second glance, and descended.  Peterson stood looking after him.

“Now, I’d like to know what Charlie meant by going home,” he said.

Max had been thinking hard.  Finally he said:—­

“Say, Pete, we’re blind.”

“Why?”

“Did you think he was going home?”

Peterson looked at him, but did not reply.

“Because he ain’t.”

“Well, you heard what he said.”

“What does that go for?  He was winking when he said it.  He wasn’t going to stand there and tell the laborers all about it, like we was trying to do.  I’ll bet he ain’t very far off.”

“I ain’t got a word to say,” said Peterson.  “If he wants to leave Grady to me, I guess I can take care of him.”

Max had come to the elevator for a short visit—­he liked to watch the work at night—­but now he settled down to stay, keeping about the hopper where he could see Grady if his head should appear at the top of the stairs.  Something told him that Bannon saw deeper into Grady’s manoeuvres than either Peterson or himself, and while he could not understand, yet he was beginning to think that Grady would appear before long, and that Bannon knew it.

Sure enough, only a few minutes had gone when Max turned back from a glance at the marine tower and saw the little delegate standing on the top step, looking about the distributing floor and up through the girders overhead, with quick, keen eyes.  Then Max understood what it all meant:  Grady had chosen a time when Bannon was least likely to be on the job; and had sent the other man ahead to reconnoitre.  It meant mischief—­Max could see that; and he felt a boy’s nervousness at the prospect of excitement.  He stepped farther back into the shadow.

Grady was looking about for Peterson; when he saw his burly figure outlined against a light at the farther end of the building, he walked directly toward him, not pausing this time to talk to the laborers or to look at them.  Max, moving off a little to one side, followed, and reached Peterson’s side just as Grady, his hat pushed back on his head and his feet apart, was beginning to talk.