ot Churn's.

The girl glanced round involuntarily, and saw the small black object
imbedded in the smashed door panel. Her nerves jerked, but she turned
back to the window, with a sensation of ice in her spine.

"String these and get them to _her_, if you have to take them to
Newport!" she cried.

There was a queer muffled explosion, not unlike the breaking of wood,
yet somehow different. Clo felt a blow on the shoulder, and then a
strange, heart-rending pain. She staggered, fell forward on to her
knees, hanging over the window sill. But she threw the bag. A red light
flamed in her eyes, not like the light of the summer day. Through the
redness she thought she saw a little woman in black catch the bag and
stand still, looking up. Clo tried to wave her hand, motioning "Go
on--hurry!" and her lips formed the words. She was not sure whether the
woman went, or whether she had been stopped at the taxi door by some men
getting out of that gray limousine; the cloud of red had grown so thick.
But there were noises behind her. The men in the hall had burst the door
open. She could not look round again. Her head rested upon her arm,
lying on the window sill. Then someone was dragging her away. It was all
over for her in this world! But Beverley's pearls were saved.

XXXV

THE TIME LIMIT OF HOPE

A big, blond man had hustled Mrs. Mac and Violet downstairs before the
shot was fired. It was bewildering to them that Mr. Cheffinsky should
come home after his strange absence with his beautiful golden beard and
moustache shaved off.

Cheffinsky was like an officer directing a defence. He took command
instantly he entered the house, seeming to understand the situation
without a question. "If any one rings, let Violet be a long time opening
the door," he said. "But it must be opened. Don't act as if there was
something to hide. Keep 'em talking, no matter who, or about what as
long as you can. There's been a theft from a lady boarder, and a little
excitement; you've only to tell the truth--see?"

All this in a second; but it got the two women out of the way. The spy
must be muzzled at any cost, for Cheffinsky guessed at a word from Kit
that this was the mysterious girl of the telephone.

"Pick her up," he said to Kit, when they had got the locked door open.
"If any eyes are on that window, it won't look too queer for one girl to
pull another back into the room."

As the other two women had done, Kit obeyed. She was used