I must get in there and carry them off, if they caught me in the
attempt.

"It was no use trying before the jury had seen the room. But as soon
as that was all over, I judged the strictness of the watch upon the
premises would be relaxed, and the windows would probably be opened
a little to air the place. So on the morning of the inquest, I told
the Wilsons casually I'd met you at Torquay and had therefore a sort
of interest in learning the result of the coroner's deliberation.
Then I took my bicycle, and rode across to Woodbury. Leaning up my
machine against the garden wall, I walked carelessly in at the gate,
and up the walk to the library window, as if the place belonged to
me. Oh, how my heart beat as I looked in and wondered! The folding
halves were open, and the box stood on the table, still connected
with the wires that conducted the electrical current. I stood and
hesitated in alarm. Were the negatives still there, or had the
police discovered them? If they were gone, all was up with you. The
game was lost. No jury on earth, I felt sure, would believe my
story.

"I vaulted up to the sill. Thank heaven, I was athletic. Not a soul
was about: but I heard a noise of muffled voices in the other rooms
behind. Treading cat-like across the floor, I turned the key in the
lock. A chalk mark still showed the position of the pistol on the
ground exactly as you flung it. The box was on the table, and I saw
at a glance, the wires which connected it with the battery had never
been disconnected. I was afraid of receiving a shock if I touched
them with my hands, and I had no time to waste in discovering
electrical attachments. So I pulled out my knife, and you can fancy
with what trembling hands I cut that wire on either side and