d to exercise a certain discretion.

At the same time he was not blind to the fact that his military ally was
in considerable danger. The only thing now would be to bluff the whole
thing through, to pretend that the game was up and that the house was
surrounded with police.

With this intention in his mind, Field crossed the hall and tried the
dining-room door. He was not altogether surprised to find the door
locked. He listened at the keyhole, but he could not hear anything
whatever. Furthermore, the application of an eye to the keyhole
disclosed the fact that the room was in darkness. Despite his courage a
thrill ran down the spine of the inspector. There was some more than
usually devilish work going on here.

"Well, it can't be helped," Field muttered. "It's the fortune of war.
One of us has come to grief, and if I stay here I may share the same
fate, and I the only one left who knows anything of the secrets of the
prison house. I'll run over and get assistance and we'll search the
house. After all, my friend the Colonel has only himself to blame."

Without waiting for anything further, Field slipped out by the way he
had come. Once in the road, he glanced back at the house, but the whole
place seemed to be in pitchy darkness. There was nothing for it now but
to make his way to the nearest police station, and get all the
assistance possible. There was no trouble at the station across the
Common, the mere mention of Field's name being sufficient. A few minutes
later half a dozen constables in silent shoes were on their way to the
scene of action. There was to be no fuss and bother; they decided to
enter quietly and unostentatiously by the larder window, which was done
without any noise whatever.

Once the exits were guarded, there was no necessity for further
concealment. But though the lights were turned up all over the house and
the most careful search made, not a sign of human life could be seen.
Everybody had vanished, as if the whole thing had been a dream. Field,
standing in the hall and biting his nails, was fain to admit that he was
beaten.

How on earth had those people managed to efface themselves in that
amazing manner? They had all apparently vanished off the face of the
earth. And there was that bulky package too, that Field believed
contained the body of Sir Charles. It was long past midnight before
Field left the house, having taken precautions not to disturb anything,
but even those precautions