The theatre of war," he answered--"and here we are at the stage door!"

Raffles had stopped suddenly in his walk. It was the last dark hour of
the summer night, but the light from a neighboring lamppost showed me
the look on his face as he turned.

"I think you also inquired when," he continued. "Well, then, this
minute--if you will give me a leg up!"

And behind him, scarcely higher than his head, and not even barred, was
a wide window with a wire blind, and the name of Nasmyth among others
lettered in gold upon the wire.

"You're never going to break in?"

"This instant, if you'll, help me; in five or ten minutes, if you
won't."

"Surely you didn't bring the--the tools?"

He jingled them gently in his pocket.

"Not the whole outfit, Bunny. But you never know when you mayn't want
one or two. I'm only thankful I didn't leave the lot behind this time.
I very nearly did."

"I must say I thought you would, coming down here," I said
reproachfully.

"But you ought to be glad I didn't," he rejoined with a smile. "It's
going to mean old Nasmyth's subscription to the Founder's Fund, and
that's to be a big one, I promise you! The lucky thing is that I went
so far as to bring my bunch of safekeys. Now, are you going to help me
use them, or are you not? If so, now's your minute; if not, clear out
and be--"

"Not so fast, Raffles," said I testily. "You must have planned this
before you came down, or you would never have brought all those things
with you."

"My dear Bunny, they're a part of my kit! I take them wherever I take
my evening-clothes. As to this potty bank, I never even thought of it,
much less that it would become a public duty to draw a hundred or so
without signing for it. That's all I shall touch, Bunny--I'm not on
the make to-night. There's no risk in it either. If I am caught I
shall simply sham champagne and stand the racket; it would be an
obvious frolic after what happened at that meeting. And they will
catch me, if I stand talking here: you run away back to bed--unless
you're quite determined to 'give old Brutus the tip!'"

Now we had barely been a minute whispering where we stood, and the
whole street was still as silent as the tomb. To me there seemed least
danger in discussing the matter quietly on the spot. But even as he
gave me my dismissal Raffles turned and caught the sill above him,
first with one hand and then with the other. His legs swung like a
pendulum as he drew