his hands."

"Yes, yes--that would be the wisest course to pursue, no doubt. This
way, Mr.--Palmer. It will save time if we go directly to the stable,"
and Doctor Wesselhoff opened a door opposite the one by which Ray had
entered, and politely held it for him to pass through.

Ray, wholly unsuspicious, stepped eagerly forward and entered the room
beyond, when the door was quickly closed after him, and the sound of a
bolt shooting into its socket startled him to a knowledge of the fact
that he was a prisoner.

A cry of indignation and dismay burst from him, as it again flashed upon
him that his companion of a moment before must be in league with the
woman who had decoyed him to that place.

He sprang back to the door, and sternly demanded to be instantly
released.

There was no reply--there was not even a movement in the other apartment,
and he was suddenly oppressed with the fear that he was in the power of
an organized gang of robbers who might be meditating putting him out of
the way, and no one would ever be the wiser regarding his fate.

He felt that he had been very heedless, for he did not even know the name
of the street he was on. His fascinating companion had so concentrated
his attention upon herself that he had paid no heed to locality.

He repeated his demand to be released, beating loudly upon the door to
enforce it.

But no notice was taken of him, and a feeling almost of despair began to
settle over him.

He glanced about the room he was in, to see if there was any other way of
escape, when, to his dismay, he found that the apartment was padded from
floor to ceiling, and thus no sound within it could be heard outside.

It was lighted only from above, where strong bars over the glass plainly
indicated to him that the place was intended as a prison, although there
were ventilators at the top and bottom, which served to keep the air
pure.

The place was comfortably, even elegantly, furnished with a bed, a
lounge, a table and several chairs. There were a number of fine pictures
on the walls, handsome ornaments on the mantel, besides books, papers and
magazines on the table.

But Ray could not stop to give more than a passing glance to all this. He
was terribly wrought up at finding himself in such a strait, and paced
the room from end to end, like a veritable maniac, while he tried to
think of some way to escape.

But he began to realize, after a time, that giving way to such excitement
woul