st went back to put the curtain aside
and make sure....

Now they were entering the prison room. No place for anyone to hide
here, thought Tuppence, with a sigh of relief, then chided herself
indignantly. She must not give way to this foolish fancying--this
curious insistent feeling that MR. BROWN WAS IN THE HOUSE.... Hark! what
was that? A stealthy footstep on the stairs? There WAS some one in the
house! Absurd! She was becoming hysterical.

Jane had gone straight to the picture of Marguerite. She unhooked it
with a steady hand. The dust lay thick upon it, and festoons of cobwebs
lay between it and the wall. Sir James handed her a pocket-knife, and
she ripped away the brown paper from the back.... The advertisement
page of a magazine fell out. Jane picked it up. Holding apart the frayed
inner edges she extracted two thin sheets covered with writing!

No dummy this time! The real thing!

"We've got it," said Tuppence. "At last...."

The moment was almost breathless in its emotion. Forgotten the faint
creakings, the imagined noises of a minute ago. None of them had eyes
for anything but what Jane held in her hand.

Sir James took it, and scrutinized it attentively.

"Yes," he said quietly, "this is the ill-fated draft treaty!"

"We've succeeded," said Tuppence. There was awe and an almost wondering
unbelief in her voice.

Sir James echoed her words as he folded the paper carefully and put it
away in his pocket-book, then he looked curiously round the dingy room.

"It was here that our young friend was confined for so long, was
it not?" he said. "A truly sinister room. You notice the absence of
windows, and the thickness of the close-fitting door. Whatever took
place here would never be heard by the outside world."

Tuppence shivered. His words woke a vague alarm in her. What if there
WAS some one concealed in the house? Some one who might bar that door on
them, and leave them to die like rats in a trap? Then she realized the
absurdity of her thought. The house was surrounded by police who, if
they failed to reappear, would not hesitate to break in and make a
thorough search. She smiled at her own foolishness--then looked up with
a start to find Sir James watching her. He gave her an emphatic little
nod.

"Quite right, Miss Tuppence. You scent danger. So do I. So does Miss
Finn."

"Yes," admitted Jane. "It's absurd--but I can't help it."

Sir James nodded again.

"You feel--as we all feel--THE PRESENCE