gone?" was my first faint question.

"Thank God you're not, anyway!" replied Raffles, with what struck me
then as mere flippancy. I managed to raise myself upon one elbow.

"I meant Lord Ernest Belville," said I, with dignity. "Are you quite
sure that he's cleared out?"

Raffles waved a hand towards the window, which stood wide open to the
summer stars.

"Of course," said he, "and by the route I intended him to take; he's
gone by the iron-ladder, as I hoped he would. What on earth should we
have done with him? My poor, dear Bunny, I thought you'd take a bribe!
But it's really more convincing as it is, and just as well for Lord
Ernest to be convinced for the time being."

"Are you sure he is?" I questioned, as I found a rather shaky pair of
legs.

"Of course!" cried Raffles again, in the tone to make one blush for the
least misgiving on the point. "Not that it matters one bit," he
added, airily, "for we have him either way; and when he does tumble to
it, as he may any minute, he won't dare to open his mouth."

"Then the sooner we clear out the better," said I, but I looked askance
at the open window, for my head was spinning still.

"When you feel up to it," returned Raffles, "we shall STROLL out, and I
shall do myself the honor of ringing for the lift. The force of habit
is too strong in you, Bunny. I shall shut the window and leave
everything exactly as we found it. Lord Ernest will probably tumble
before he is badly missed; and then he may come back to put salt on us;
but I should like to know what he can do even if he succeeds! Come,
Bunny, pull yourself together, and you'll be a different man when
you're in the open air."

And for a while I felt one, such was my relief at getting out of those
infernal mansions with unfettered wrists; this we managed easily
enough; but once more Raffles's performance of a small part was no less
perfect than his more ambitious work upstairs, and something of the
successful artist's elation possessed him as we walked arm-in-arm
across St. James's Park. It was long since I had known him so pleased
with himself, and only too long since he had had such reason.

"I don't think I ever had a brighter idea in my life," he said; "never
thought of it till he was in the next room; never dreamt of its coming
off so ideally even then, and didn't much care, because we had him all
ways up. I'm only sorry you let him knock you out. I was waiting
outside the door all the ti