tunity that had yet come his way of obtaining very
important, and, perhaps, decisive information.

To have discovered the identity of this stranger who had come visiting
Deede Dawson might have meant much, and he told himself angrily that
Clive's safety had certainly not been worth purchasing at the cost of
such a lost chance, though he supposed that was a point on which Clive
himself might possibly entertain a different opinion.

But now there was nothing for it but to go quietly back to the house,
for clearly Deede Dawson's suspicions were aroused and he had his
revolver ready in his hand.

"I suppose it was only cats all the time," he observed, with apparent
unconcern. "But at first I made sure there were no burglars in the
house."

"And I suppose," suggested Deede Dawson. "You think one burglar's enough
in a household."

"I don't mean to have any one else mucking around," growled Dunn in
answer.

"Very admirable sentiments," said Deede Dawson and asked several more
questions that showed he still entertained some suspicion of Dunn, and
was not altogether satisfied that his appearance in the garden was quite
innocent, or that the noise heard there was due solely to cats.

Dunn answered as best he could, and Deede Dawson listened and smiled,
and smiled again, and watched him from eyes that did not smile at all.

"Oh, well," Deede Dawson said at last, with a yawn. "Anyhow, it's all
right now. You had better get along back to bed, and I'll lock up." He
accompanied Dunn into the hall and watched him ascend the stairs, and
as Dunn went slowly up them he felt by no means sure that soon a bullet
would not come questing after him, searching for heart or brain.

For he was sure that Deede Dawson still suspected him, and he knew Deede
Dawson to be very sudden and swift in action. But nothing happened, he
reached the broad, first landing in safety, and he was about to go on up
to his attic when he beard a door at the end of the passage open and saw
Ella appear in her dressing-gown.

"What is the matter?" she asked, in a low voice.

"It's all right," he answered. "There was a noise in the garden, and I
came down to see what it was, but it's only cats."

"Oh, is that all?" she said distrustfully.

"Yes," he answered, in a lower voice still, he said:

"Will you tell me something? Do you know any one who talks in a very
peculiar shrill high voice?"

She did not answer, and, after a moment's hesitation, went back in