en
feet. The pieces passed for props were dumped on to a conveyor which
ran them out of the shed to be stacked for seasoning and export. The
rejected pieces by means of another conveyor moved to the third and
fourth saws, where they were cut into blocks for firewood, being finally
delivered into two large bins ready for loading on to the lorries.

The friends exhibited sufficient non-technical interest to manage to
spend a good deal of time over their survey, drawing out the foreman in
conversation and seeing as much as they could. At one end of the shed
was the boiler house and engine room, at the other the office, with
between it and the mill proper a spacious garage in which, so they were
told, the six lorries belonging to the syndicate were housed. Three
machines were there, two lying up empty, the third, with engine running
and loaded with blocks, being ready to start. They would have liked
to examine the number plate, but in the presence of the foreman it
was hardly possible. Finally they walked across the clearing to where
felling and lopping was in progress, and inspected the operations. When
they left shortly after with a promise to return to meet Mr. Coburn,
there was not much about the place they had missed.

"That business is just as right as rain," Merriman declared when they
were once more in the boat. "And that foreman's all right too. I'd
stake my life he wasn't hiding anything. He's not clever enough for one
thing."

"So I think too," Hilliard admitted. "And yet, what about the game with
the number plates? What's the idea of that?"

"I don't know. But all the same I'll take my oath there's nothing wrong
about the timber trade. It's no go, Hilliard. Let's drop chasing wild
geese and get along with our trip."

"I feel very like it," the other replied as he sucked moodily at
his pipe. "We'll watch for another day or so, and if we see nothing
suspicious we can clear out."

But that very evening an incident occurred which, though trifling,
revived all their suspicions and threw them at once again into a sea of
doubt.

Believing that the Coburns would by that time have returned, they left
the launch about five o'clock to call. Reaching the edge of the clearing
almost directly behind the house, they passed round the latter and rang.

The door was opened by Miss Coburn herself. It happened that the sun
was shining directly in her eyes, and she could not therefore see her
visitors' features.

"You ar