“Oh—­ugh!” grunted Larry, for the breath was knocked from his body by the sudden impact.

“What’s the matter?  What are you doing?” inquired the man angrily.  “Why don’t you look where you’re going?”

The collision had swung him out of the shadow into the light, where he stood blinking.  Larry recovered his breath, and then, at the sight of the man, gave a low-voiced cry of astonishment.

“Mr. Sullivan!” he exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s you, is it, Dexter!” remarked the politician.  “Are you following me?  Are you spying on me?  If you are I’ll have you arrested!”

“I’m not following you or spying on you!” retorted Larry.  “But you seem to be hiding here.  What do you want?  What are you in front of Mr. Potter’s house for?”

He was determined to follow up his advantage, and to show Sullivan that he was not in the least intimidated by him.  Clearly there was something in the wind when the district political leader was hiding behind trees watching the house of the missing millionaire.

“Look here!” exclaimed Sullivan, and he had moved back until he was in the shadow.  “You go along and mind your own business; do you hear?  Move along now!”

“I guess I have as good a right as you have to remain on the street.  And this sidewalk is just as public as any in New York, even if it is in the millionaire section.  What are you hiding for?  Do you expect to see Mr. Potter come walking down the steps?  If you do I’ll wait, too.  I’d like to see him.”

“You think you’re very smart because you’re a reporter,” retorted Sullivan, becoming more and more angry as he saw he could not intimidate Larry.  “Let me tell you you’re making a big mistake.  I have some power in New York, and I warn you that I’ll use it if you don’t stop interfering with me.  You’ve made me trouble enough.  Now you be off, or I’ll call a policeman and have you arrested.”

“You can’t,” replied Larry.  “I haven’t done anything except to run into you, and that was an accident, caused by you being in the shadow.”

“I’ll show you what I can do.  The police of this district know me, and they’ll do anything I say.”

“You might have ‘pull’ enough to have me arrested,” Larry admitted, “but I wouldn’t stay locked up long.  A telephone message to the city editor of the Leader, and a word from him to some one higher up than a policeman, would bring about a change.  And I don’t think you’d like to read the story in the paper the next day, Mr. Sullivan.”

The politician was silent.  He knew Larry had the best of the argument.  For, though the Assembly leader had some power in New York, he was only a “small fry” when it came to an important matter, such as he knew would result if Larry was taken into custody.  He contented himself, therefore, with growling out threats against Larry in particular and all newspaper men in general.

“You’ll interfere with me once too often,” said Sullivan.  “I warn you, young man.  You’re making a big mistake.  There’s more behind this matter than you have any idea of.”