By the glow of the fire I made my way to the door A glance showed me
that the hall and the staircase were In darkness. It was evident that a
fuse had come to a violent end.

I closed the door and returned to my seat. Then I reached for the
telephone and put the receiver to my ear.

"What an extraordinary thing!" said a voice. "And you've no idea whose
it was?"

"Not the slightest," came the reply. There was a musical note in the
girlish tone that would have attracted any one. "There it was, on the
top of the car, when we got to the Berkeley. It wasn't such a bad hat,
either."

"Excuse me," said I. "It was a jolly good hat."

A long tense silence followed my interruption. At length--

"I say, are you there, Dot?"

"Yes," came the reply in an excited whisper. "Who was that speaking?"

"I've not the faintest idea," rejoined the first voice I had heard.
"Somebody must have got on to our line. I expect----"

A familiar explosion severed the sentence with the clean efficiency of
the guillotine.