lear that the man's whole
nature bade him resent this intrusion. It was evident that he
regarded the two with suspicion, although at sight of the girl, who
had turned, this was abated somewhat.

"How long have you been here?" he demanded.

"Some three or four hours."

"Are--are there any more of you?"

"No."

"Has--has there been any call for me while you have been in the
house?"

"No."

He staggered a little and Wilson suggested that he lie down once more.
But he refused and, still retaining his grip on the revolver, he bade
Wilson lead him to the door of the next room and leave him. He was
gone some fifteen minutes. Once Wilson thought he caught the clicking
as of a safe being opened. The girl, who had remained in the
background all this while, now crossed to Wilson's side as he stood
waiting in the doorway. He glanced up at her. In her light silk gown
she looked almost ethereal and added to the ghostliness of the scene.
She was to him the one thing which lifted the situation out of the
realm of sheer grim tragedy to piquant adventure from which a hundred
lanes led into the unknown.

She pressed close to his side as though shrinking from the silence
behind her. He reached out and took her hand. She smiled up at him and
together they turned their eyes once again into the dark of the room
beyond. Save for the intermittent clicking, there was silence. In this
silence they seemed to grow into much closer comradeship, each minute
knitting them together as, ordinarily, only months could do.

Suddenly there was a cessation of the clicking and quickly following
this the sound of a falling body. Wilson had half expected some such
climax. Seizing a candle from the table before the fire, he rushed in.
The stranger had fallen to the floor and lay unconscious in front of
his safe.

A quick glance about convinced Wilson that the man had not been
assaulted, but had only fainted, probably from weakness. His pulse was
beating feebly and his face was ashen. Wilson stooped to place his
hands upon his shoulders, when he caught sight of that which had
doubtless led the stranger to undertake the strain of opening the
safe--a black ebony box, from which protruded through the opened cover
the golden head of a small, quaint image peering out like some fat
spider from its web. In falling the head had snapped open so that from
the interior of the thing a tiny roll of parchment had slipped out.
Wilson, picking this up, put it in h