s
in my revolver.

The front door stood open and I entered and tiptoed down the passage to
the room where I had found the Portuguese Jew. No one hindered me, but
it was not for lack of servants. I had the impression that there were
people near me in the darkness, and I thought I heard German softly
spoken. There was someone ahead of me, perhaps the speaker, for I could
hear careful footsteps. It was very dark, but a ray of light came from
below the door of the room. Then behind me I heard the hall door clang,
and the noise of a key turned in its lock. I had walked straight into a
trap and all retreat was cut off.

My mind was beginning to work more clearly, though my purpose was still
vague. I wanted to get at Ivery and I believed that he was somewhere in
front of me. And then I thought of the door which led from the chamber
where I had been imprisoned. If I could enter that way I would have the
advantage of surprise.

I groped on the right-hand side of the passage and found a handle. It
opened upon what seemed to be a dining-room, for there was a faint
smell of food. Again I had the impression of people near, who for some
unknown reason did not molest me. At the far end I found another door,
which led to a second room, which I guessed to be adjacent to the
library. Beyond it again must lie the passage from the chamber with the
rack. The whole place was as quiet as a shell.

I had guessed right. I was standing in the passage where I had stood
the night before. In front of me was the library, and there was the
same chink of light showing. Very softly I turned the handle and opened
it a crack ...

The first thing that caught my eye was the profile of Ivery. He was
looking towards the writing-table, where someone was sitting.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Underground Railway

This is the story which I heard later from Mary ...

She was at Milan with the new Anglo-American hospital when she got
Blenkiron's letter. Santa Chiara had always been the place agreed upon,
and this message mentioned specifically Santa Chiara, and fixed a date
for her presence there. She was a little puzzled by it, for she had not
yet had a word from Ivery, to whom she had written twice by the
roundabout address in France which Bommaerts had given her. She did not
believe that he would come to Italy in the ordinary course of things,
and she wondered at Blenkiron's certainty about the date.

The following morning came a letter from Ivery in