tes, that she
had in her possession? He flung the portal wide, stepped out, then
turned and bowed as if to some one inside. "Good-by!" he called,
cheerily. "Had a delightful afternoon." The door closed with a click,
and he was in the open air. He extracted a cigarette from his jeweled
case, noting from the corner of his eye that, with one accord, the
maskers were closing in upon him. Descending the steps, he turned to the
left, walking briskly.

His one chance now depended upon whether these men knew Emile by sight.
If so, he felt that he was reasonably safe. If not--

He was approaching two of them. They separated to let him pass between.
From beneath their fatuously smiling masks he saw eyes staring at him
curiously. The flesh along his spine crinkled and rippled, but he did
not turn his head or falter, even when he knew they had halted. He could
feel the puzzled gaze of many eyes upon him, and imagined the
mystification his appearance had excited. In the midst of their
indecision there sounded the faint clamor of a gong. It grew rapidly
until, with wild clangor, a patrol-wagon reeled into the street and drew
up in front of the house Van Dam had just quitted. He turned as a
half-dozen blue-coats tumbled out of it and rushed up the steps;
incidentally, he saw that the black-clad figures were melting away in
various directions.

Roly did not wait to observe what followed. He turned the first corner,
then quickened his gait, at the next corner swinging once more to the
left. His pulses were jumping, his ears were roaring, he found the
muscles of his jaw were aching from the strain. A close call, surely!
But he had come through it all safely; he was whole, and on his way out
of this mysterious neighborhood. Once more his promptness and resource
had saved him. Here was the very street up which he and Madelon had
fled; yonder was the entrance to the blind alley that led into the
stable-yard.

He noticed that a little crowd was congregated there, many of its
members in the costume of merrymakers. He reflected that Emile might
have found their presence awkward in making his escape. They seemed
greatly excited or shocked over something, he noted, as he approached.
They completely blocked the alley entrance. In among them he forced his
way, then paused, staring down with startled eyes at what he saw. A
babble of voices smote his ears, but he heard nothing. He was elbowed
aside, but his gaze remained riveted upon the body o