that the
lady detective was a woman so young and so pretty. Charmed as he was
to find himself in the company of one so engaging, it was nevertheless
evident to Jennie that he placed no very high estimate on the assistance
she might be able to give in solving the mystery of the Treasury. This
trend of mind, she thought, had its advantages, for the Director would
be less loth to give her full particulars of what had already been
accomplished by the police.

Jennie accompanied the Director to that extensive mass of buildings of
which the Treasury forms a part. The carriage drew up at a doorway, and
here the Director and his companion got out. He led the way into the
edifice, then, descending a stair, entered an arched corridor, at the
door of which two soldiers stood on guard, who saluted as the Chief
passed them.

"Does this lead to the room where the explosion took place?" asked
Jennie. "Yes." "And is this the only entrance?" "The only entrance,
madame." "Were the men on guard in this doorway injured by the
explosion?" "Yes. They were not seriously injured, but were rendered
incapable for a time of attending to their duties." "Then a person could
have escaped without their seeing him?" "A whole regiment of persons
might have escaped. You will understand the situation exactly if I
compare this corridor to a long cannon, the room at the end being the
breech-loading chamber. Two guards were inside the room, and two others
stood outside the door that communicated with this corridor. These four
men were killed instantly. Of the guards inside the room not a vestige
has been found. The door, one of the strongest that can be made,
somewhat similar to the door of a safe, was flung outward and crushed to
the floor the two guards who stood outside it in the corridor. Between
the chamber in which the chest lay and the outside entrance were sixteen
men on guard. Every one of these was flung down, for the blast, if I may
call it so, travelled through this straight corridor like the charge
along the inside of the muzzle of a gun. The guards nearest the treasure
chamber were, of course, the more seriously injured, but those further
out did not escape the shock, and the door by which we entered this
corridor, while not blown from its hinges, was nevertheless forced
open, its strong bolts snapping like matches. So when you see the great
distance that intervened between the chamber and that door, you will
have some idea of the force of t