f out at full length on the floor.
By straining to the uttermost, his groping fingers were still six
inches from the key. Saranoff had calculated the distance well.

Convinced that he could not reach the key by any effort of stretching,
Dr. Bird wasted none of his precious time in vain regrets or in
useless efforts to accomplish the impossible. He rose to his feet and
calmly took stock of the room, searching for other means of freeing
himself. The shackles themselves offered no hope. He searched his
pockets. The search yielded a pocket knife, a bunch of keys, a
flashlight, a handkerchief, a handful of loose change, and a wallet.
He examined the miscellany thoughtfully.

* * * * *

A light broke over his face. He tied one end of the handkerchief to
the knife and again took a prone position on the floor. Cautiously he
tossed the knife out before him. It fell to one side of the key. He
drew it back and tried again. The knife fell beyond the key. Slowly he
drew it back toward him by the handkerchief. When it reached his hand,
he saw to his joy, that the key was a good inch nearer. With a lighter
heart, he tried again.

His toss was good. The knife fell over the key, and again he drew it
to him. To his disgust, the key had not moved. Again and again he
tried it, but the knife slid over the key without moving it. He looked
more carefully and saw that the key was caught on an obstruction in
the flooring.

With careful aim, he threw his knife so as to drive the key further
away. He threw the knife again and tried to draw the key to him from
its new position. It came readily until it reached the inequality in
the floor which had stopped it the first time. All of his efforts to
draw it nearer were fruitless. He give vent to a muttered oath as he
looked at the clock. Thirty minutes of his time had gone.

A second time he knocked the key away and strove to draw it to him
with no success. The clock bore witness to the fact that another ten
minutes had been wasted. He rose to his feet and carefully surveyed
his surroundings.

A cry of joy burst from his lips. On the floor was a tiny metallic
thread which he knew for a wire. He bent down and picked it up. It was
fine and very flexible. He doubled it three times and strove to bend a
hook in it. The wire was too short to offer much hope, but he threw
himself prone and began to fish for the key.

The wire reached it readily enough, but it did not