e had left them, and no one had noticed
the theft of the key.

After assuring himself that nobody happened to be in the neighborhood
of the pavilion the captain entered, followed by his men. The door was
left wide open, so that they could beat a hurried and uninterrupted
retreat in case of necessity. The trees and bushes in this shady part
of the park were very thick, and it was so dark that it would not have
been easy to distinguish the pavilion had not a light shone brightly
in one of the windows.

No doubt this was the window of the room occupied by Roch and his
guardian, Gaydon, seeing that the latter never left the patient placed
in his charge either by night or day. Captain Spade had expected to
find him there.

The party approached cautiously, taking the utmost precaution to avoid
kicking a pebble or stepping on a twig, the noise of which might have
revealed their presence. In this way they reached the door of the
pavilion near which was the curtained window of the room in which the
light was burning.

But if the door was locked, how were they going to get in? Captain
Spade must have asked himself. He had no key, and to attempt to effect
an entrance through the window would be hazardous, for, unless Gaydon
could be prevented from giving the alarm, he would rouse the whole
establishment.

There was no help for it, however. The essential was to get possession
of Roch. If they could kidnap Gaydon, too, in conformity with the
intentions of the Count d'Artigas, so much the better. If not--

Captain Spade crept stealthily to the window, and standing on tiptoe,
looked in. Through an aperture in the curtain he could see all over
the room.

Gaydon was standing beside Thomas Roch, who had not yet recovered from
the fit with which he had been attacked during the Count d'Artigas'
visit. His condition necessitated special attention, and the warder
was ministering to the patient under the direction of a third person.

The latter was one of the doctors attached to Healthful House, and had
been at once sent to the pavilion by the director when Roch's
paroxysm came on. His presence of course rendered the situation more
complicated and the work of the kidnappers more difficult.

Roch, fully dressed, was extended upon a sofa. He was now fairly calm.
The paroxysm, which was abating, would be followed by several hours of
torpor and exhaustion.

Just as Captain Spade peeped through the window the doctor was making
prepar