A soft whistle came from below as the laboring of the oars in their padded rowlocks ceased. Looking out of the window, she could just discern a dark patch on the water immediately beneath. She did not reply to the whistle. Instead, she drew from under her cloak a coil of thin, tough wire. On one end of it was a leaden weight, like a large fishing-line sinker. Dropping the leaden sinker over the sill, she paid out the wire until the weight dropped into the sea. She knew just how far this was by a scrap of red ribbon she had the night before tied on the wire at a certain spot, when she had measured the distance from her window to the water. Three sharp tugs at the wire told her that the other end had been found by the men in the boat. She began to pull the wire back, and soon she had the end of a thick, strong silken rope which had been attached to the end of the wire with a well-made sailor’s knot. The baroness untied the silken rope and made it fast with a similar knot to the handle of her room door. This door was locked and bolted, and she had satisfied herself that the handle was a solid one. The way in which she knotted the silken line to it, indicated that she was an expert in handling ropes. She did it as easily and swiftly as any experienced seaman. Going back to the window, she jerked the cord three times, while looking down. Soon the silken cord became taut under a heavy weight. It strained and gave a little where it crossed the edge of the window sill. “All right?” she whispered. “All right!” was the answering grunt, in a man’s voice. It was only a few seconds later when the figure of a man appeared above the window ledge. It climbed through the window and stood by her side, seemingly waiting for orders. “You did that very well, Kennedy!” she whispered. “Is my uncle there?” “No. He said it was not necessary for him to come.” “Too lazy, I suppose. Who else is in the boat?” “Four of the crew.” “Very well! Signal down for one of the men to come up, and we’ll go on with what we have to do.” “All right, mademoiselle.” Kennedy, first mate of the yacht _Idaline_ lying out there in the bay, shook the rope up which he had climbed. As there came an answering shake, he called down softly: “Groton!” “Aye, aye!” “Come up here--quick!” The lithe young foremast man who answered to the name of Groton came up, hand over hand, so swiftly, that he was on the window sill while the mate was still looking down. “That’s right!” remarked the baroness quietly. “Now, you two wait here, while I go back to the room and get things ready. No noise, of course!” “Shall I lock the door while you are out?” whispered Kennedy. “Yes. Somebody might happen to be about and try the door, if they saw me in the corridor. I’ll give the usual signal.” She reached into her black bag to make sure certain things were there. Then she went out and slipped along the corridor on the thick carpet, while Kennedy softly secured her sitting-room door inside.