ated to put the finest
possible edge on such judgment as one may happen to possess. Even
Raffles, without an ounce to lose or a nerve to soothe, used to own a
sensuous appreciation of the peace of mind and person to be gained in
this fashion when all others failed. For me, the fun began before the
boots were off one's feet; the muffled foot-falls, the thin sound of
the fountain, even the spent swathed forms upon the couches, and the
whole clean, warm, idle atmosphere, were so much unction to my simpler
soul. The half-hour in the hot-rooms I used to count but a strenuous
step to a divine lassitude of limb and accompanying exaltation of
intellect. And yet--and yet--it was in the hottest room of all, in a
temperature of 270 deg. Fahrenheit, that the bolt fell from the _Pall Mall
Gazette_ which I had bought outside the bath.

I was turning over the hot, crisp pages, and positively revelling in
my fiery furnace, when the following headlines and leaded paragraphs
leapt to my eye with the force of a veritable blow:

BANK ROBBERS IN THE WEST END--DARING
AND MYSTERIOUS CRIME

An audacious burglary and dastardly assault have been
committed on the premises of the City and Suburban Bank in
Sloane Street, W. From the details so far to hand, the
robbery appears to have been deliberately planned and
adroitly executed in the early hours of this morning.

A night watchman named Fawcett states that between one and
two o'clock he heard a slight noise in the neighborhood of
the lower strong-room, used as a repository for the plate
and other possessions of various customers of the bank.
Going down to investigate, he was instantly attacked by a
powerful ruffian, who succeeded in felling him to the ground
before an alarm could be raised.

Fawcett is unable to furnish any description of his
assailant or assailants, but is of opinion that more than
one were engaged in the commission of the crime. When the
unfortunate man recovered consciousness, no trace of the
thieves remained, with the exception of a single candle
which had been left burning on the flags of the corridor.
The strong-room, however, had been opened, and it is feared
the raid on the chests of plate and other valuables may
prove to have been only too successful, in view of the
Easter exodus, which the thieves had evidently taken int