he
house was before him when he emerged, a few minutes later, from the
woods. He was protected from the sight of anyone in the house by a
screen of heavy shrubbery, which divided the lawn from the woods.

He found that in his unguided advance through the woods, he had
approached the house to the south, so that he saw not only the house
itself, but also had a good view of the garage at the back. The car
had evidently just been run into the garage, for a man was closing
the doors, while another stood nearby. A moment later, the two men
approached the house and passed out of sight. Marsh presumed that
they had used the back door, which was out of his line of vision.
While the distance was too great for him to see the men's features
distinctly, he knew that neither of them was Hunt, for he was now
sufficiently familiar with Hunt's figure to have easily recognized
it.

To have seen one man or woman around the premises would not have
surprised Marsh, as he was prepared to find a caretaker in charge.
That two men should drive up in an expensive automobile, however,
store it in the garage, and enter the house, as if perfectly at
home, was a peculiar incident. Caretakers do not usually have
automobiles; certainly not expensive limousines. If the family had
been away for a few days, it would be natural for the chauffeur, or
some of the servants, to use the car. But this house had been closed
for two years, and Marsh was under the impression that Merton had
not been using a private car. If he had been using a car it was
hardly likely that he would have let his old chauffeur go. The
telephone conversation, which the girl at the hotel had overheard,
between Merton and the supposed Nolan, indicated that Merton had
more than a casual regard for his ex-chauffeur, or the man would not
have appealed to him.

Marsh's suspicions being now definitely aroused, he decided not to
take a chance by showing himself in the open. This might very
probably be "the house in the suburbs," and he was not prepared to
battle alone with four or more desperate men. Though he lingered for
some time in his place of concealment, there were no further signs
of life, so Marsh, deciding that he was wasting valuable time, crept
cautiously into the woods and worked his way back through the
undergrowth to the main road.

The next step was to find a close neighbor. Having twice approached
the house from the north, Marsh knew that there was no residence
near it