ing for it but to scale it, and as I was in the act of
clambering up I was startled by a strange voice behind me--a woman's
voice raising an alarm!

Ray, who was standing behind me, closed with the unwelcome stranger in
an instant, and placed his hand forcibly over her mouth while I sprang
back to assist him. That moment was an exciting one.

"Put your handkerchief in her mouth, man!" he cried. "Don't you see who
it is--the woman Stolberg!"

Quick as thought I took out my handkerchief and stuffed it into her
mouth while he held her. Then I gripped her arms, while Ray produced the
thin silk rope which he usually carried on such expeditions and with it
bound her tightly hand and foot.

She struggled violently, cursing us in German the while, but all in
vain. So at length we disposed of her comfortably against a tree-trunk
in a field opposite, to which Ray very deftly secured her. She had
evidently driven over from Cromer on some important errand to her
friends and had stopped the cart some distance away from the house.

Cautiously we negotiated the high iron gate, and creeping noiselessly
across the lawn, gained the window on the left of the entrance. Ray
flashed his light upon it, and noting that the fastening was only an
ordinary one, promptly commenced work upon it by inserting one of his
burglarious tools between the sashes. In a few moments it sprang back
with a click, and lifting the sash slowly and pushing aside the holland
blind, he swung himself into a comfortably furnished sitting-room, I
following quickly at his heels.

In that dead silence I could hear my heart throbbing.

We were actually in the house of the spies!

The room, which contained nothing of interest to us, smelt strongly of
tobacco, while upon the table lay a big German pipe. Still gripping his
leather bag Ray carefully opened the door, and crossing the wide
old-fashioned hall, opened another door, when we found ourselves in an
old-fashioned dining-room, the sideboard of which was decorated with
some very nice antique blue china. From this apartment we visited the
drawing-room and another smaller reception-room, and then, creeping on
tiptoe, we ascended the old well staircase which once creaked horribly
beneath me.

Here we were confronted with a serious problem. We knew not in which
room the spies were sleeping.

Ray halted at the top of the stairs to take his bearings, and after some
hesitation resolved to first investigate the room