ward the
life-saving station, but Orme did not suggest this to her, though the car
was within twenty feet of him, the other side of the fence. If there
should be a struggle, it would please him just as well that she should be
out of hearing, for her anxiety, he knew, was already great, though she
kept it closely under control.

Eastward he went through the trees. When he had covered about half the
distance he found himself approaching the side of a large building. There
must be some mistake. Had he deviated so widely from the course? In
leaving the fence he had taken sights as carefully as he could.

Then the explanation struck him. Walsh, the burglar, had probably paced
in eastward from the fence and come to the building just as he had. There
was no good hiding-place apparent near at hand, and Walsh would hardly
have retraced his steps. What, then, would he have done? Orme asked
himself. Why, he would have turned north or south.

Orme looked in both directions. North and south of the building were open
driveways. Walsh must have gone around the building, then continued
eastward. This is what Orme now proceeded to do.

Remembering the number of paces to the side of the building, he chose the
northward course, because there was less light north of the building. He
hugged the side of the building, counting his steps, and, after reaching
the corner, turned eastward. He now counted his paces along the northern
side of the building.

When he reached the corner of the eastern side of the building, he paced
as far southward on the eastern side as he had gone northward on the
western side, and on reaching a point due east of the place at which he
had originally come to the building, he added the number of paces from
the fence to the building to the number of paces he had taken along the
northern side of the building, and continued eastward toward the lake.

At the two hundredth pace he stopped to reconnoiter. Not more than two
hundred feet ahead of him he could see dimly, through the tree trunks,
the expanse of the lake. There was no sound, no evidence that any other
person was near.

He proceeded cautiously for ten paces. Many trees were near him. He would
have to examine all of them, for it was hardly possible that he had
followed Walsh's course with unerring exactness. If the tree was within
twenty feet of him north or south, that was as much as he could expect.

One thing was clear to him. Walsh had probably chosen