Before hiding the motor cycle in this way, he had extinguished the light. Now he retraced his steps to the wooden door, turned the lock with the skeleton key, and stepped into the well-kept grounds. He closed and locked the door behind him, after which he drew out his electric torch. A momentary flash revealed the fact that a footpath started at the door and ran through the grounds, doubtless in the direction of the house. “Just as Atherton said,” he muttered. “Now, shall I wait here until they arrive, or shall I spend the interval in having a look at the outside of the house?” He consulted his watch. “Two o’clock,” he soliloquized. “They won’t be here for an hour yet. I’ll stroll up to the house, and then come back and wait for them.” So numerous and closely planted were the trees that even if it had been lighted, the intruder could not have seen the house from where he stood. In fact, it was not until he had groped his way along the path for three or four hundred yards that he suddenly emerged from among the trees, and found himself in full view of the front of the house. It was an imposing frontage, four stories high, and was approached from the main gates by a long, straight drive. A balustraded terrace ran along the whole front of the building, and outside the principal door were a handsome stone porch and a broad flight of steps. At such an hour the waiter had naturally expected to find the house in darkness, and all its occupants in bed. Judge then of his surprise, to say nothing of his dismay, when he saw that a light was burning in the entrance hall, that the front door was wide open, and that two men--they appeared to be a butler and a footman--were standing on the porch. “Jerusalem!” he exclaimed, whistling softly to himself. “This looks as if Atherton’s calculations had miscarried. He and his pals will certainly have to postpone their little enterprise, or else they’ll find themselves----” His musings ended in a startled gasp, for at that moment his quick ears caught a sound which filled him with added dismay. It was the distant chug-chug of a motor car, faint and far off at first, but growing louder and louder every moment. CHAPTER V. “HERE THEY COME.” “Alfred Atherton and his bunch!” muttered Max, quivering with suppressed excitement. “They must have changed their plans at the last moment. I distinctly heard Atherton say to Frost that they would reach here about three o’clock, and it’s just after two now. Of course, they won’t be able to tackle the job under the circumstances. When they discover that the people in the house are astir, they’ll give up the attempt, and hotfoot it back to the big town--if they don’t blunder into hot water before they get wise.