Page:The Death-Doctor.djvu/270

258 and watched them silently ascend the front steps and carefully let themselves in with a latch-key.

When the door had closed, I stood wondering what course to pursue. Here, most certainly, were the intruders who came at night to that empty house with some secret design.

As I watched, I saw upon the blinds of the dining-room the flash of an electric torch. The light showed from room to room. They appeared to be searching the house. The situation was a peculiar one. If I alarmed the police, then my own scheme would at once be negatived. So I watched and waited.

Presently, after twenty minutes or so, the young man emerged stealthily and descended the steps. He would have encountered me had I not previously taken the precaution to conceal myself inside the small garden.

Then I made a sudden resolve. The old woman was alone within, so I would enter and demand an explanation.

I got in by the pantry window—which I had purposely unlatched and unscrewed when inside with the detectives—and crept upstairs to the dining-room, where a faint light showed. Peering through the crevice of the door, I