glimpse of her in the semi-darkness with a police whistle
at her lips. He sprang forward, and as he did so a shrill, ear-piercing
blast rang out. Green was close behind him.

She shrieked as the detective tore the whistle from her, and he felt her
slender figure entwine itself about him. Down he went, with his
companion on top of him, and another woman's loud hysterical cries added
to the pandemonium. Foyle picked himself up and, lifting the girl
bodily, flung her without ceremony into the room from which she had
emerged. From above a voice shouted something, and a knife whizzed
downwards and struck quivering in the bare boards of the landing,
grazing Green's shoulders.

All need for caution was gone now. Foyle had dropped his jemmy and his
hand closed over his pistol. Only as a last resource would he use it,
but if he had to--well, there could be no harm in having it handy. A
door slammed as the two detectives climbed the second flight of stairs.
Green flung himself against the one that had been indicated by Israels,
and the flimsy fastening gave way under the shock of his thirteen stone.
There was no one in the room. Savagely Heldon Foyle turned and caught
the handle of a second door. It turned, and they entered the room, empty
like the first, but with an open window looking out on a series of low
roofs a dozen feet below. And over the roofs a shadowy figure of a man
was clambering hurriedly. He could only dimly be seen.

Green clambered through on to the window-sill and dropped. He was
unlucky. A projecting piece of wood caught his foot, and he staggered
and lost time. Before he had recovered himself the fugitive was out of
sight, and the sound of his progress had ceased. Foyle called to him to
come back and, without waiting to see whether his orders were obeyed,
made his way back again to the first-floor landing. Israels was still
there, very white and shaky, as the superintendent struck a match.

"Where's that girl?" said the detective curtly. "The one who gave the
alarm."

"My daughter? She thought you were burglars. She didn't know."

"Where is she?"

Without waiting for a reply he entered the room whence she had emerged
and, striking another match, applied it to a gas-bracket. A fat woman
was sitting up in bed looking at him timorously. He paid no heed to her,
but stooped to look under the bed. When he straightened himself Green
had rejoined him.

"The girl gave us away," exclaimed Foyle. "Here, you, wh