ortly, turning away and ignoring the
proffered hand.

The servant opened the door and Marsh; passed out. He hurried over
to Rush Street and into the telephone booth in a nearby drug store.
He talked for a few minutes over the telephone and then took a
street car for home.

A half hour later an observant person might have noticed a man
lingering in the shadows of Oak Street.

CHAPTER XVII

WHAT THE CARETAKER SAW.

Early Monday morning Marsh started for Hubbard Woods, to carry out
his investigations regarding the Merton house These investigations
must be conducted along different lines from those he had
contemplated on Sunday, for his last interview with Hunt had
considerably changed his position in the matter. Hunt now regarded
him with suspicion, and it might be considered probable that he had
even gone so far as to warn the caretaker he had said was in charge,
against admitting Marsh.

Marsh intended to have another look at the place, but only a
surreptitious one from the cover of the woods. His chief object now
was to discover if neighbors knew anything about the place. As he
came down the road he recognized the turn, which the day before had
brought him directly in front of the gate, so he stepped to the side
of the road, and approached the turn with caution, for he did not
want anyone who might be coming from the house to find him near it
at this time.

As Marsh walked slowly around the bend in the road he saw the rear
of a closed car just disappearing between the gateposts. Only the
guarded way in which he had approached had prevented the occupants
of the car from seeing him. Marsh hurried to the shelter of one of
the big stone gateposts and peered around it in time to note that
the car was a large, black one of the limousine type. The next
minute it was lost to view around a curve in the driveway, and Marsh
paused for a moment to reflect. This might be Hunt's car bringing
him up for one of the visits which he had said he was accustomed to
make. On the other hand, it seemed too early an hour for a man of
Hunt's habits. Moreover, Marsh had reason to believe that Hunt's car
would be followed; and certainly there was no one else in sight now.
Marsh decided that the matter was worth investigating, and turned
into the concealing shadow of the woods. He made his way with
difficulty through the tangled underbrush, in what he believed to be
the general direction of the house. His guess was correct, for t