en numbness.

I found myself lying on the path outside with two men at my side.

One was a dark-bearded, thick-set, but gentlemanly-looking man--the
other was Ray Raymond.

Of the house where I had been, scarcely anything remained save its
foundations. The big trees in the garden had been shattered and torn
down, and every window in the neighbourhood had been blown in, to the
intense alarm of hundreds of people who were now rushing along the dark,
unfrequented thoroughfare.

"My God!" cried Ray. "What a narrow escape you've had! Why didn't you
take my advice? It was fortunate that, suspecting something, we followed
you here. This gentleman," he said, introducing his friend, "is Bellamy,
of the Special Department at Scotland Yard. We just discovered you in
time. Old Van Nierop ran inside again when he met us in the path. He
thought he had time to escape through the back, but he hadn't. He's been
blown to atoms himself, as well as the Baron, and thus saved us the
trouble of extradition."

I was too exhausted and confused to reply. Besides, a huge crowd was
already gathering, the fire-brigade had come up, and the police seemed
to be examining the debris strewn everywhere.

"You watched the Baron well, but not quite well enough, my dear Jacox,"
Ray said. "They evidently suspected you of prying into their business,
and plotted to put you quietly out of the way. You have evidently
somehow betrayed yourself."

"But what was their business?" I asked. "I searched every scrap of paper
in the Baron's rooms, but was never able to discover anything."

"Well, the truth is that the reason the Baron came to England was in
order to take a house in this secluded spot. Aided by Van Nierop they
have established a depot close by in readiness for the coming of the
Kaiser's army. Come with me and let us investigate."

And leading me to a stable at the rear of another house about fifty
yards distant, he, aided by Bellamy, broke open the padlocked door.

Within we found great piles of small, strongly bound boxes containing
rifle ammunition, together with about sixty cases of old Martini-Henry
rifles, weapons still very serviceable at close quarters, a quantity of
revolvers, and ten cases of gun-cotton--quite a formidable store of arms
and ammunition, similar to that we found in Essex, and intended, no
doubt, for the arming of the horde of Germans already in London on the
day when the Kaiser gives the signal for the dash upon our shor