s."

"Six--almost. It's been over six years, Mr. Drew!"

"That ought to let her out of the case. Now, the next one?"

"The housekeeper, Mrs. Seeley. She has been with us ten or twelve
years--ever since I can remember. Mother thought the world of Mrs.
Seeley."

"Who else?"

"Father's valet. They didn't arrest him."

"He was down to my office. He looks all right. I'll cross him off the
list of suspects. Now, are there any more servants in the house?"

"There's a French chef and a pantry man, I think. Also there's a poor
old darkey who tends to the furnace. I don't believe he leaves the
basement. I never see him, only on holidays."

"The butler, then, and the doorman and the second man and the rest of
the servants have been taken down to Center Street for interrogation
and as suspects. That leaves us with very few to handle, Miss
Stockbridge. I'm going to start by securing the door which leads into
the hallway. Then we'll wait here."

Drew hurried through the tapestries, stopped, and examined the lock of
the door before he shot home a second bolt which was functioned by a
butterfly of heavy gold alloy. He stood erect with both hands pressing
at his temples. It came to him with double force that the same
precautions had been taken when Stockbridge was alone in the library
downstairs. There was the lock of superior make and the winged-latch.
There was the two-inch, or more, door of dark wood. There were the
servants and detectives both within and outside the mansion. Yet the
millionaire had been reached in a secret manner through all the
precautions.

"Things repeat, sometimes," mused Drew, fingering the catch and the
flat key. "The same conditions bring the same results. I----"

The detective's voice trailed into a whisper as he heard footsteps
outside the door. He reached back to his pocket and waited. His heart
thumped like a prisoned bird within his breast. It was a case of
strained nerves. He felt the responsibility of guarding Loris.

"Bah!" he exclaimed, recovering himself and squaring his jaw. "Bah," he
repeated. "It's somebody for me."

He opened the door after twisting the butterfly and turning the flat
key in the lock. A blurred figure pressed forward. A gruff voice boomed
from a muffling collar.

"Hello, Chief! I'm back in a half-hour! No luck, either!"

Drew waited until Delaney had removed his overcoat and overshoes, which
he placed in one corner by a hall-tree. "What did you find?" he asked