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Rh Blake and Shaw had been relieved at their post outside by two other plainclothesmen; and Odell stopped to give them a word of instruction, when Miller suddenly touched his arm.

The tradesmen's entrance—a door in the high brick wall of the yard, which opened from the side street—^had swung in cautiously, and as Odell drew his men quickly around the screening corner of the house a muffled female figure appeared, heavily veiled and swathed in a cumbersome cloak despite the warmth of the September night. It appeared to hesitate for a moment, then turned and struck off down the side street to the eastward; while from the door of the yard a second figure, that of a man, emerged and followed stealthily.

"Smith is on the job," Odell commented in a low tone. "That means Miss Cissie has started out to keep her appointment. Come on, Miller."

In spite of her bulky attire the woman ahead walked with a lithe grace, and she appeared to be in no uncertainty as to her route. The trail led east to Park Avenue, north for several blocks, then west to Fifth Avenue, where at the corner she jumped into a taxi, which moved off without waiting for any instructions.

No other disengaged motor was in sight; but just as Odell and Miller overtook Smith, who had momentarily hesitated, an ancient hansom cab drawn by a spavined horse drew up at the curb, and a husky voice addressed them.

The three piled into the cab and a few words from Odell sent them off in full pursuit of the taxi, whose tail light was fast disappearing to the north. Then began a long and tortuous chase which winded the horse before a half-mile