. The Chinamen crouched along the wall, as if trying to
conceal themselves, whining pitifully.

Garth jumped through the front hall. The vestibule door was locked and
the key was missing. There was no time to conquer locks. His opportunity
was limited. So he ran into the front room. The window catch baffled
him. He didn't dare wait to fumble with it. He raised his fists and
crashed them through the glass. His hands, scratched and bleeding a
little, waved a frantic appeal. He shouted. And he heard answering
voices and the pounding of feet. He saw figures glide into view and
spring up the steps. The battering of shoulders filled the house with a
turmoil that drowned its own increasing agitation.

He went back to the inner hall.

"Nora!" he called.

He pushed through the curtains into a room fantastic with Oriental
furnishings. Black, in a panic, had Nora in his grasp. The girl
struggled mutely.

"Drop her, Black!"

Black turned.

"That ends our bargain," Garth said harshly.

"She tried to stop me," Black quavered.

"He's the brother-in-law," Garth said scornfully, "of the very man who's
been trying in his useless way to smash this gang. What do you think of
that?"

Nora came forward. She was shocked, but it was clear she failed to share
his scorn. As the front door yielded she put her hand on his arm.

"Have you ever seen his wife, Jim?" she asked simply.

He nodded.

"So have I," she went on. "She's the one I'm thinking of. She's too
young, too happy, to have her whole life stained by this thing."

But Garth's anger persisted. Black, however, in response to Nora's nod,
slipped behind the window curtains. The inspector, Manford, and a number
of detectives rushed in.

"Get your men through the house," Nora advised.

The inspector motioned the men to go. He lumbered over to Nora. He put
his arms around her. An excessive gratitude moistened his eyes and
thickened his voice.

"Thank the Lord!"

"Thank Jim," she said, "although he risked everything by appearing
here."

"If you'd told us more of your plans," Garth said, "we would have worked
better together."

"I didn't dare," she answered. "I knew so little myself. So much
depended on success."

Manford's fragile fingers pulled at his moustache. The humor in his eyes
did not quite veil a real admiration.

"Well!" he said gaily. "Let me congratulate you, inspector. The police
_have_ put something worth while over--through a woman."

Garth, whose