In order not to attract the occupiers of these houses we conversed in low whispers, and in obedience to the local detective's suggestion climbed the gates one after another and carefully descended within the garden. On either side of the house extended walls some ten feet in height, with doors in them giving access to the rear of the premises, and again, guided by the plain-clothes man, we scaled this wall, a somewhat perilous process, it being spiked on the top. As it was, indeed, I made a serious rent in an almost new pair of trousers, much to Boyd's amusement. At last, when we were in the rear garden, our guide began foraging beneath a laurel bush and brought forth a dark lantern, a short, serviceable-looking jemmy, and a big bunch of skeleton keys. "I examined the place this afternoon," he explained. "This door is the only one locked from the outside, therefore if we can pick the lock we shall be able to enter and get away without leaving a trace." "Very well," Boyd said impatiently. "Let's get to work," and taking the keys he went to the garden entrance and commenced work upon the lock, while his assistant lit and held the lantern. Every effort, however, to open the lock proved a failure. "It's a Chubb, a Bramah, or one of those lever locks," said Boyd, in a low tone, giving it up after he had tried all the keys in vain. "It won't do to force the door, for that'll betray us." "Why not try a window?" I suggested. "No, sir," said the plain-clothes man. "They're all barred, I'm afraid." "But those on the first floor," I suggested, looking up at one, evidently a landing window, over the door. "We might try if we could only reach it," Boyd said, laying down the keys upon the doorstep. "If we forced the catch we could screw it down again before we left." In order to discover something by which we might gain access to the window we all three crept carefully across the lawn and down the long old-fashioned garden to an outhouse, where, after some search, we found an old and rotten ladder, half the rungs of which seemed missing. This we carried back, and a few moments later Boyd, mounting, with a strong clasp-knife which he had taken from his pocket, began slowly working back the catch, until at last he was able to throw up the window and crawl in. Without a sound I followed, the local detective clambering in after me.