slunk down the lane, past the church, and through the gloomy
cloisters, giving a wide berth to all lamps and lighted entries, until,
emerging into Paper Buildings, we crossed at the darkest part to King's
Bench Walk, where Thorndyke made straight for the chambers of our friend
Anstey, which were two doors above our own.

"Why are we coming here?" I asked, as we ascended the stairs.

But the question needed no answer when we reached the landing, for
through the open door of our friend's chambers I could see in the
darkened room Anstey himself with two uniformed constables and a couple
of plain-clothes men.

"There has been no signal yet, sir," said one of the latter, whom I
recognized as a detective-sergeant of our division.

"No," said Thorndyke, "but the M.C. has arrived. He came in five minutes
before us."

"Then," exclaimed Anstey, "the ball will open shortly, ladies and gents.
The boards are waxed, the fiddlers are tuning up, and--"

"Not quite so loud, if you please, sir," said the sergeant. "I think
there is somebody coming up Crown Office Row."

The ball had, in fact, opened. As we peered cautiously out of the open
window, keeping well back in the darkened room, a stealthy figure crept
out of the shadow, crossed the road, and stole noiselessly into the
entry of Thorndyke's chambers. It was quickly followed by a second
figure, and then by a third, in which I recognized our elusive client.

"Now listen for the signal," said Thorndyke. "They won't waste time.
Confound that clock!"

The soft-voiced bell of the Inner Temple clock, mingling with the
harsher tones of St. Dunstan's and the Law Courts, slowly told out the
hour of midnight; and as the last reverberations were dying away, some
metallic object, apparently a coin, dropped with a sharp clink on to the
pavement under our window.

At the sound the watchers simultaneously sprang to their feet.

"You two go first," said the sergeant, addressing the uniformed men, who
thereupon stole noiselessly, in their rubber-soled boots, down the stone
stairs and along the pavement. The rest of us followed, with less
attention to silence, and as we ran up to Thorndyke's chambers, we were
aware of quick but stealthy footsteps on the stairs above.

"They've been at work, you see," whispered one of the constables,
flashing his lantern on to the iron-bound outer door of our
sitting-room, on which the marks of a large jemmy were plainly visible.

The sergeant nodded g