isiting him
was to get at the conclusion. It is most interesting, and apparently
interminable."

"Would you object to relating it to me?" inquired Gratz.

"Heavens!" cried Raikes, aghast at the prospect of the extended effort
which this would impose upon him. "Is it necessary?"

"I would not be surprised," replied Gratz. "At any rate, if your story
is more mysterious than the predicament which confronts us, it must be
worth hearing."

With an ill grace, after making the elaborate arrangements which usually
precede a protracted campaign, Raikes hastened to comply with the
request of the detective.

As he proceeded, he was startled to note, now that he made his first
conscious effort to review the weird recital of the Sepoy, just how
vividly the incidents presented themselves.

Aside from the phraseology, he recounted, in precise order, the
incredible incidents, and by the time he had reached the climax in the
first division of his effort his hearers were interested enough to
hasten through a light meal, which, at the suggestion of Gratz, had been
sent to the room they occupied.

With something of the calculation of the Sepoy, or remembering, perhaps,
the effect which his abrupt terminations had upon him, Raikes contrived
his irritating pauses with remorseless enjoyment and the ostensible
purpose of stimulating his sorely taxed energies with draughts of
brandy and water.

In this way Raikes consumed the time until the hour of eleven, which
enabled him to develop the narrative to the point at which the Sepoy had
concluded.

"And now," exclaimed Raikes with unmistakable relief, as he signified
that his hearers were in possession of all he knew, "and now will you
kindly tell me what you expect to gain by this tedious task you have
imposed upon me?"

Gratz did not reply at once, but after a few moments of reflection, he
asked, apparently ignoring the question of the narrator: "Will you give
me the keys of this building you occupy, and indicate to me the means of
rummaging about the other building on the opposite side of the wall?"

"If it is necessary," replied Raikes with grudging assent.

"Why else should I make the request?" suggested Gratz with emotionless
directness of speech and a momentary gleam of the eyes.

"True!" responded Raikes.

"Now," exclaimed Gratz, when the various keys were placed in his hand,
"you can sleep in peace to-night, and bolt your doors with all the
assurance in the world, for I