She rose slowly to her feet - and suddenly reached out, grasping at
the door to steady herself. It seemed as though every muscle had
gone limp, as though her limbs had not strength to support her.
And for a moment she hung there, then she locked the door, staggered
back, sank down on the edge of the bed, and, with her chin in her
hands, stared at the guttering stub of candle. And presently, in
an almost aimless, mechanical way, she felt in her pocket for the
piece of paper that she had found wrapped around the key, and drew
it out. There were three figures scrawled upon it - nothing else.

7 3 9

She dropped her chin in her hands again, and stared again at the
candle. And after a while the candle went out.


IV. THE ADVENTURER

Twenty-Four hours had passed. Twenty four hours! Was it no more
than that since - Rhoda Gray, in the guise of Gypsy Nan, as she sat
on the edge of the disreputable, poverty-stricken cot, grew suddenly
tense, holding her breath as she listened. The sound reached the
attic so faintly that it might be but the product solely of the
imagination. No - it came again! And it even defined itself now
- a stealthy footstep on the lower stairs.

A small, leather-bound notebook, in which she had been engrossed,
was tucked instantly away under the soiled blanket, and she glanced
sharply around the garret. A new candle, which she had bought in
the single excursion she had ventured to make from the house during