Speaking, he walked rapidly across to the long blind, pulled it down to its full length, then with a wrench tore it wholly from the roller and whirled it over, so that they who were within could now see the outer side. It bore, painted upon it, a perfect representation of the interior of the glass-room, even to the little spindle-legged table with a vase of pink roses upon it which _now_ stood at that room's far end. "A clever idea, Colliver, and a good piece of painting," he said. "It took me in once--last August--just as it took in Mrs. Sherman and her daughter yesterday. The mistiness of the lace curtains falling over it lent just the effect of 'distance' that was required to perfect the illusion and to prevent anybody from detecting the paint. As for the boy----Gently, lads, gently! Don't let the beggar in his struggles make you step on that 'dead soldier.' Under the thick coating of wax a human body lies--the boy's! Hullo! Gone off his balance, eh, at the knowledge that the game is entirely up?" This as Colliver, with a terrible cry, collapsed suddenly and fell to the floor shrieking and grovelling. "They are a cowardly lot these brute-beast men when it comes to the wall and the final corner. Mr. Trent, break this to Miss Larue as gently as you can. She has suffered a great deal, poor girl, and it is bound to be a shock. She doesn't know that the woman he called his wife never really was his wife; she doesn't know about Loti or his threat. If she had she'd have told me, and I might have got on the trail in the first case instead of waiting to pick it up like this." He paused and held up his hand. Through all this Colliver had not once ceased grovelling and screaming; but it was not his cries that had drawn that gesture from Cleek. It was the sound of some one racing at top speed up the outer stairs, and with it the jar of many excited voices mingled in a babble of utter confusion. The door of the glass-room swung inward abruptly, and the head bookkeeper looked in, with a crowd of clerks behind him. "Mr. Trent, sir, whatever is the matter? Is anybody hurt? I never heard such screams. The whole place is ringing with them and there's a crowd gathering about the door." Cleek left the junior partner to explain the situation, stepped to the side of the glass-room, looked down, saw that the statement was quite true, and--stepped sharply back again. "We shall have to defer removing our prisoner until it gets dark, I fancy, Mr. Narkom," he said, serenely. "And with Mr. Trent's permission we will make use of the door leading into the alley at the back when that time comes. Bookkeeper!" "Yes, sir?"