emainder of the evening in discussing the
case, but neither of us was able to shed any new light upon it.
Shortly after eleven, the two men who were to form the relief arrived,
and just as we started for the wall, Godfrey drove in from the
highway. It needed but a moment to tell him of our arrangements, which
he heartily approved. He joined us, and we were soon at the foot of
the ladder. While we waited, Simmonds gave the new men the same minute
instructions he had given the others; and presently we heard a slight
scraping against the wall, and the men who had been on duty recrossed it.

They had nothing of especial interest to report. The yogi and Miss
Vaughan had taken a stroll through the grounds early in the evening;
and my heart sank as the detective added that they seemed to be
talking earnestly together. Then they had re-entered the house, and
Miss Vaughan had remained in the library looking at a book, while her
companion passed on out of sight. At the end of an hour, she had
closed the book, shut and locked the outer door, and turned out the
light. Another light had appeared shortly afterwards in a room
upstairs. It, too, had been extinguished half an hour later, and the
detectives presumed that she had gone to bed. After that, the house
had remained in complete darkness. The servants had spent the evening
sitting on a porch at the rear of the house, talking together, but had
gone in early, presumably to bed.

When the men had finished their report, Simmonds dismissed them, and
the two who were to take up the watch crossed the wall and passed from
sight.

"And now, Simmonds," said Godfrey, "come along and I'll show you what
started me to watching that house, and caused me to get Lester out here."

Simmonds followed him up the ladder without a word, and I came along
behind. We were soon on the limb.

"Of course," Godfrey added, when we were in place, "it is just
possible that nothing will happen. But I think the show will come off
as usual. Look straight out over the trees, Simmonds--ah!"

High in the heavens that strange star sprang suddenly into being,
glowed, brightened, burned steel-blue; then slowly and slowly it
floated down, straight down; hovered, burst into a thousand sparks....

And, scarcely able to believe my eyes, I saw standing there against
the night two white-robed figures, with arms extended and faces
raised; and then they vanished again into the darkness.

For an instant we sat there si