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 the dining-room—he made a resolve to end this farce at once. Accordingly, he had packed his bags and then sat down to wait until that hour when his departure would not be immediately noted, creeping occasionally out into the corridor to discover if any activity were still to be observed about the house. The first of these nocturnal strolls of espionage warned him that the household had not yet retired. The lights had not been extinguished and he could hear conversation, apparently that of the servants, on the lower floor. Much later his vigilance informed him that a deep silence prevailed. The moving picture star, exhausted by the heavy scene she had recently played, apparently had fallen asleep. Mama Starling's door too was closed and no sound penetrated its thickness. At ten o'clock a single light burned on each floor and the stillness had become so monotonous that Ambrose dared extend the field of his investigations. He discovered that the outer door had been locked and bolted, and surmised, with no evidence to the contrary, that the servants had retreated to their own quarters. A more propitious occasion to carry out his plan of flight seemed unlikely to present itself.

Nevertheless, always cautious, he had returned to his rooms to wait nearly an hour before he sum-