slipped on the wet iron, smooth from long use, and he stumbled down
several steps before he recovered himself. He listened a moment, heard
nothing but the tinkle of the rain in the spout, then continued his
retreat.

As he stepped out upon the brick courtyard he was seized from behind by a
pair of strong arms that clasped him tight. In a moment he was thrown
across the threshold of a door into an unlighted room, where his captor
promptly sat upon him and proceeded to strike a light.




CHAPTER V

A LOST CIGARETTE CASE

To other woods the trail leads on,
To other worlds and new,
Where they who keep the secret here
Will keep the promise too.

--Henry A. Beers.


The man clenched Armitage about the body with his legs while he struck a
match on a box he produced from his pocket. The suddenness with which he
had been flung into the kitchen had knocked the breath out of Armitage,
and the huge thighs of his captor pinned his arms tight. The match
spurted fire and he looked into the face of the servant whom he had seen