ch lay on the floor. It had been
previously concealed by the lower part of the door.

"You bet I would!" exclaimed Marsh and hurried across to the
cupboard. He pulled out the suitcase, which was fairly heavy, and
tried to open it. It was locked. Nels pulled out a big knife, with a
long blade, and began to cut through the leather at the edges. He
presently laid back one side of the suitcase, exposing some clothing
to view. It was only a thin layer, however, which Marsh threw
quickly aside. Under the clothing he found a carefully wrapped
package. Tearing off the covering, he saw what he sought--the plates
for the five dollar bills. Beneath the package, laid out in a
carefully arranged row, were bundles of stocks and bonds.

Here, at last, was the evidence Marsh had sought, and the
confirmation of the theory he had carefully worked out.

CHAPTER XXII

CORNERED

Marsh replaced everything in the suitcase, put it back in the
cupboard, and closed the door.

"We're through here for the present, Nels," he said.

Shutting off the lights, the two men returned to the main floor. As
they entered the library, Morgan and Tierney appeared, having
completed their search of the upper part of the house.

"Any luck?" asked Marsh.

"Nothing at all with any bearing on the case," answered Morgan. "How
about you?"

"I found all the evidence we need; most of it in a suitcase, which
is probably the one Atwood removed from his apartment."

"There goes one of your theories, Marsh," laughed Morgan.

"Which one?" inquired Marsh.

"That Clark Atwood and this man Hunt were not in cahoots."

Marsh smiled. "What is the proverb?" he said. "'Tis wisdom sometimes
to seem a fool.'"

"Now then, Morgan," he continued, briskly, "there's the telephone.
You make arrangements to have your men come out and take care of the
evidence in the basement, and the prisoners. While you're doing
that, the rest of us will bring in those fellows we left out by the
road."

Morgan went to the telephone as directed, and Marsh led the others
down the drive to the gate. Everything was just as they had left it,
and they found the two men where they had placed them, behind the
bushes.

"If I'm any example," said Tierney, "these two guys must be near
frozen to death."

"That'll cool off their ambition for a fight," replied Marsh.

Marsh placed Wagner, who was the smaller of the two men, over his
shoulder, and Tierney and Nels, carrying the other man