d passed
through it and down the hall as quietly as a draught. He heard a click
as Doran switched up the lights, followed by an oath. Then he streaked
down the main stairway with a flight and a half start. A second was
lost at the hall door fumbling for the latch and in that second Doran
fired again but missed. As Harrison Smith shot out into Albemarle
Street he collided heavily with a constable, attracted to the scene by
the noise of the shots, but him he overturned to such good effect that
he was crossing Piccadilly before the blast of the inevitable whistle
screeched through the night. There was no further opposition to his
progress and in St. James's Street he fell into a walk and finally
entered his own apartment unobserved.

A little breathless but entirely satisfied he flung himself on the bed
for a couple of hours' sleep.

CHAPTER 21.

THE CORNISH RIVIERA.

In the summer time all the best people, and many who fall short of
perfection, go westward to the Cornish Riviera. It is the thing to do.
The taxi, the station 'bus, the private automobile, and even the almost
extinct four-wheeler, high laden with luggage, by common consent roll
down the slope into Paddington and deliver up their cargoes. Long are
the queues at the booking offices, thronged the platforms, and loud the
voices of those who command. Each little party of voyagers would seem
to have its own alarums as an inevitable adjunct to excursion. The
genius for organising is manifest on all sides with resultant chaos.
Orders and injunctions are flung broadcast--misinterpreted and
sometimes abused. The germ of panic infects the multitude.

There was nothing Freddie Dirk liked better than a holiday crowd. They
inspired in him a sense of profound gratitude. Their generosity was
boundless. To a gentleman of his skill in the matter of property
exchange they represented a fortune. Whatsoever the imagination might
picture and the heart of man covet could be had at the mere turn of a
hand.

His appointment with Harrison Smith was for 9.50, but Freddie Dirk
arrived half an hour ahead of time and this grace he put to excellent
account. He had learnt from Bolt that Cornwall was their destination,
wherefore his first care was to procure two first-class tickets for
Plymouth from the cuff of a gentleman's raincoat--a feat in strict
accordance with the laws of economy. The high cost of living had of
late reduced his supply of ready cash, on w