o they shut up the place an' come away. An' that's all
till about 'alf an hour ago, when I takes the manager his extry-speshul
Star; in about ten minutes he comes running out with a note, an' sends
me with it to Scotland Yard in a hansom. An' that's all I know,
sir--straight. The coppers is up there now, and the tec, and the
manager, and they think their gent is about the place somewhere still.
Least, I reckon that's their idea; but who he is, or what they want him
for, I dunno."

"Jolly interesting!" said Raffles. "I'm going up to inquire. Come on,
Bunny; there should be some fun."

"Beg yer pardon, Mr. Raffles, but you won't say nothing about me?"

"Not I; you're a good fellow. I won't forget it if this leads to
sport. Sport!" he whispered as we reached the landing. "It looks like
precious poor sport for you and me, Bunny!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. There's no time to think. This, to start with."

And he thundered on the shut door; a policeman opened it. Raffles
strode past him with the air of a chief commissioner, and I followed
before the man had recovered from his astonishment. The bare boards
rang under us; in the bedroom we found a knot of officers stooping over
the window-ledge with a constable's lantern. Mackenzie was the first
to stand upright, and he greeted us with a glare.

"May I ask what you gentlemen want?" said he.

"We want to lend a hand," said Raffles briskly. "We lent one once
before, and it was my friend here who took over from you the fellow who
split on all the rest, and held him tightly. Surely that entitles him,
at all events, to see any fun that's going? As for myself, well, it's
true I only helped to carry you to the house; but for old acquaintance
I do hope, my dear Mr. Mackenzie, that you will permit us to share such
sport as there may be. I myself can only stop a few minutes, in any
case."

"Then ye'll not see much," growled the detective, "for he's not up
here. Constable, go you and stand at the foot o' the stairs, and let
no other body come up on any conseederation; these gentlemen may be
able to help us after all."

"That's kind of you, Mackenzie!" cried Raffles warmly. "But what is it
all? I questioned a porter I met coming down, but could get nothing
out of him, except that somebody had been to see these rooms and not
since been seen himself."

"He's a man we want," said Mackenzie. "He's concealed himself
somewhere about these premise