E-text prepared by Roger Frank, Darleen Dove, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 29331-h.htm or 29331-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/29331/pg29331-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29331/29331-h.zip) Transcriber's note: Text enclosed between equal signs indicates bold face (=bold=). A detailed transcriber's note is at the end of the e-book. THE CREVICE by WILLIAM J. BURNS and ISABEL OSTRANDER Illustrations by Will Grefe [Illustration: "I supposed that father was working late over some papers and I knew that I must not disturb him."] New York Grosset & Dunlap Publishers Copyright, 1915, by W. J. Watt & Company CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I PENNINGTON LAWTON AND THE GRIM REAPER 1 II REVELATIONS 16 III HENRY BLAINE TAKES A HAND 29 IV THE SEARCH 38 V THE WILL 53 VI THE FIRST COUNTER-MOVE 66 VII THE LETTER 78 VIII GUY MORROW FACES A PROBLEM 98 IX GONE! 104 X MARGARET HEFFERMAN'S FAILURE 116 XI THE CONFIDENCE OF EMILY 134 XII THE CIPHER 154 XIII THE EMPTY HOUSE 171 XIV IN THE OPEN 192 XV CHECKMATE! 207 XVI THE LIBRARY CHAIR 224 XVII THE RESCUE 240 XVIII THE TRAP 255 XIX THE UNSEEN LISTENER 272 XX THE CREVICE 290 XXI CLEARED SKIES 308 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE "I supposed that father was working late over some papers and I knew that I must not disturb him." Frontispiece With the cunning of a Jimmy Valentine he manipulated the tumblers. Ramon Hamilton, his discomfiture forgotten, watched with breathless interest. 94