hall put the--the place--straight, and
then bring him up. I sha'n't be many minutes--ten, perhaps. The cover's
rather hard to fit."

Mary nodded from the top of the stairs. Strained by the events of the
night, and by the talk to Beaumaroy, she was again near tears; her eyes
were bright in the light of the candle, and told of nervous excitement.
Beaumaroy went back into the parlor, on his way to the Tower. Suddenly he
stopped and stood dead still, listening intently.

Mary busied herself upstairs, making her preparations with practiced
skill and readiness. Her agitation did not interfere with her work
--there her training told--but of her inner mind it had full possession.
She was afraid to be alone--there in that cottage. She longed for another
clasp of that friendly hand. Well, he would come soon; but he must bring
his burden with him. When she had finished what she had to do, she sat
down, and waited.

Beaumaroy waited too, outside the door leading to the Tower.

CHAPTER XIV

THE SCEPTER IN THE GRAVE

Sergeant Hooper took up his appointed position on the flagged path
that led up to the cottage door. His primary task was to give warning
if anybody should come out of the door; a secondary one was to give
the alarm in case of interruption by passers-by on the road--an
unlikely peril this latter, in view of the hour, the darkness of the
night, and the practiced noiselessness with which Mike might be relied
upon to do his work. Here then the Sergeant was left, after being
accorded another nip from the flask--which, however, Neddy kept in his
own hands this time--and a whispered but vigorously worded exhortation
to keep up his courage.

Neddy, the Shover, and gentlemanly Mike tiptoed off to the window, on the
right hand side of the door as one approached the house from the road.
The bottom of the window was about seven feet from the ground. Neddy bent
down and offered his broad back as a platform to his companion. Mike
mounted thereon and began his work. That, in itself, was child's play to
him; the matchboarding was but lightly nailed on; the fastenings came
away in a moment under the skillful application of his instrument; the
window sash behind was not even bolted, for the bolt had perished with
time and had not been replaced. So far, very good! But at this early
point Mike received his first surprise. He could not see much of the
interior; a tall curtain stretched across the entire breadth of the
window