Page:Guy Boothby--A Bid for Fortune.djvu/161

Rh was shod with iron, the other was not. Now where and when had I noticed that peculiarity in a cripple before? That I had observed it somewhere I was certain. For nearly half the day I turned this over and over in my mind, and then, in the middle of my evening meal, enlightenment came to me. I remembered the man whose piteous tale had so much affected Beckenham on the day of our arrival, and the sound his crutches made upon the pavement as he left us. If my surmise proved correct, and we could only manage to communicate with him, here was a golden opportunity. But how were we to do this? We discussed it and discussed it times out of number, but in vain. That he must be stopped on his way down the street need not be argued at all. In what way, however, could this be done? The window was out of the question, the door was not to be thought of; in that case the only communicating place would be the small pipe by my side. But as I have already pointed out, by reason of the elbow it would be clearly impossible to force a message through it. All day we devoted ourselves to attempts to solve what seemed a hopeless difficulty. Then like a flash another brilliant inspiration burst upon me.

"By Jove, I have it!" I said, taking care to whisper lest anyone might be listening at the door. "We must manage by hook or crook to catch a mouse and let him carry our appeal for help to the outside world."

" A magnificent idea. I do believe you've saved us!"

But to catch a mouse was easier said than done. Though the room was alive with them they were so nimble and so cunning that, try how we would, we could not lay hold of one. But at length my efforts were rewarded, and after a little struggle I held my precious