ss her forehead.

"Jane Finn. Always I hear that name. It is familiar."

Tommy came forward eagerly.

"You must know SOMETHING about her?"

But the girl turned away abruptly.

"I know nothing--only the name." She walked towards the door. Suddenly
she uttered a cry. Tommy stared. She had caught sight of the picture
he had laid against the wall the night before. For a moment he caught a
look of terror in her eyes. As inexplicably it changed to relief. Then
abruptly she went out of the room. Tommy could make nothing of it. Did
she fancy that he had meant to attack her with it? Surely not. He rehung
the picture on the wall thoughtfully.

Three more days went by in dreary inaction. Tommy felt the strain
telling on his nerves. He saw no one but Conrad and Annette, and the
girl had become dumb. She spoke only in monosyllables. A kind of dark
suspicion smouldered in her eyes. Tommy felt that if this solitary
confinement went on much longer he would go mad. He gathered from Conrad
that they were waiting for orders from "Mr. Brown." Perhaps, thought
Tommy, he was abroad or away, and they were obliged to wait for his
return.

But the evening of the third day brought a rude awakening.

It was barely seven o'clock when he heard the tramp of footsteps outside
in the passage. In another minute the door was flung open. Conrad
entered. With him was the evil-looking Number 14. Tommy's heart sank at
the sight of them.

"Evenin', gov'nor," said the man with a leer. "Got those ropes, mate?"

The silent Conrad produced a length of fine cord. The next minute Number
14's hands, horribly dexterous, were winding the cord round his limbs,
while Conrad held him down.

"What the devil----?" began Tommy.

But the slow, speechless grin of the silent Conrad froze the words on
his lips.

Number 14 proceeded deftly with his task. In another minute Tommy was a
mere helpless bundle. Then at last Conrad spoke:

"Thought you'd bluffed us, did you? With what you knew, and what you
didn't know. Bargained with us! And all the time it was bluff! Bluff!
You know less than a kitten. But your number's up now all right, you
b----swine."

Tommy lay silent. There was nothing to say. He had failed. Somehow
or other the omnipotent Mr. Brown had seen through his pretensions.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"A very good speech, Conrad," he said approvingly. "But wherefore the
bonds and fetters? Why not let this kind gentleman here cut my throat