me. All seemed quiet up and down that
often unquiet street, and the lights from either direction hardly
served their purpose there, a fact which had been considered,
doubtless, in making choice of this place.

It was after midnight now, and as I heard, far away yet, the first
faint rumble of the train, I put my hand upon the handle of the door.

Was it imagination, or did I feel a responsive touch upon the other
side? I let my hand rest lightly upon the knob, and waited; then,
suddenly, as the rumble of the train came nearer, I sprang down the
steps, and, crouching at the side of Lossing, whispered across to
Murphy, 'Lay low and be ready; someone's coming out.' There was no
time for more words, but I never doubted the readiness of my two
helpers, nor their quick comprehension of the situation.

As the rumble of the train came nearer, the door opened, almost
without noise, and shut again; and softly, slowly, looking up and down
the street, but not below him, almost within reach, a man came down
the steps, paused an instant, and stood upon the pavement, to feel,
before he could turn his head, a hard grip upon either arm, a cold
pressure at the back of his neck, and simultaneously a low whisper:

'One sound and you are a dead man.'

It was all the work of an instant, and so quickly and quietly done
that our friends in the alley were not aware of our capture until we
had secured our prisoner and Lossing had gone to summon Dave.

Then, still in utter silence, we led our first capture across the
alley, and Murphy flashed a dark-lantern in his face.

It was a pallid and cowardly countenance that the light revealed, and
I was not surprised to recognise the man I had dubbed 'Smug' upon the
day of my arrival at the World's Fair. He was trembling violently,
and thoroughly cowed.

We had no difficulty in searching his pockets; he did not so much as
remonstrate--perhaps because of the pistol I had now transferred to
the hand of Lossing. By the light of the dark-lantern I selected from
among a number of keys taken from his pocket a slender one, which, as
it only needed the look upon his face to tell me, was the key to the
street-door.

'Listen!' I said to him, holding the lantern high. 'It will be to your
interest to help us, and you will find it so if you help to make what
we are about to do as easy and quiet as possible. We know who are in
that house, and if we can take them without noise and trouble, so much
the better