Out in the hall we paused a moment to listen, but no sound came to our ears. With my hand against the wall I crept softly down its length until we came to the rail of the stairs which led to the first floor. Again we paused, but heard nothing. Then very carefully, one step at a time, we went down the stairs, pausing at each step to listen. We reached the bottom of the stairs without hearing anything. The hall was very wide. On the right was the great living room, which ran the entire length of the house. On the left was a dining room and a small library. The living room was directly under the room in which I slept, and the sound of the falling chair had come from there. There was a wide double door, and I knew that the doors were open. But when, after going very carefully down the hall, we reached the doorway, we discovered as we put out our hands that it was closed. This rather startled me for a second though I knew they could not be locked; there was no kind of a lock on the door. Whoever had entered the room had closed the doors, no doubt to prevent any sound being heard. I felt Ranville's hand as it went searching over the surface of the door and as it slid over my fingers. Then slowly I felt the door open as he pushed against it—open until we were able to slip into the room. As we paused inside the door for a second, we saw and heard nothing. Then at the extreme end of the room in the place where Carter had a large cabinet, we saw the flicker of a flashlight—saw it for a moment as it swept over the surface of the cabinet then it suddenly died away. Some one was in the room directly across from us. With a pressure upon my arm Ranville started around the wall to the right; I realized he wished to get to the windows to prevent any chance of escape. With but a second's hesitancy I went around to the left. Carefully and very slowly, with one hand on the wall, I crept along. I had no gun, no flashlight, and every second I was regretting it. I could hear the figure by the cabinet as it fumbled at the glass door, but that was all. And then I paused stiffening to attention. Again there came the circle of light as it played over the cabinet. And then as if roused by some sound it began to sweep across the room. I watched the round circle of light as it swept over chairs and tables, creeping closer and closer to the windows. Then, as for the barest second I saw it flash over Ranville's feet, there came his voice: “Put up your hands or I shoot!” And as the light clicked off, I heard the sound of running feet, and there came the sharp echo of Ranville's gun.