Her flesh crept, for no reason that she could understand; a cold shiver went down her spine. Leslie Maughan was not a nervous girl. Her duty and association with Coldwell had taken her into many uncomfortable situations, and unless it was because she was very tired, there was no particular reason for nervousness. But her sensation was something more than the uneasiness which comes to the strongest nerves when they are left alone in a house. It was a premonition, a warning, indeed a certain knowledge that there was somebody in the hall below who should not be there. She went back into the room, closed the door quietly and slipped in a bolt she had had fitted. She switched on the lights that Lucretia had extinguished, and, going to the window, pulled the curtains apart and lifted the sash. Charing Cross Road was fairly well crowded with people. It was a clear night and a few paces away she saw two policemen patrolling, and presently she discerned Lucretia making her way hurriedly across the road. The maid came beneath the window simultaneously with a policeman; Leslie called her and she looked up. “Tell the policemen I want them to come in,” she said. “Here is the key--catch!” One of the officers caught the key deftly. “Anything wrong, miss?” he asked, knowing her. “I think somebody has come into the house while my maid went out to post a letter. You left the door open, did you, Lucretia?” “Yes, miss, I did,” confessed the agitated Lucretia. “I forgot to take the key.” “Well, hurry----” she began. At that moment all the lights in the room went out. She sat on the sill and swung out her legs, her eyes fixed on the door, which was visible in the light of a street lamp. A faint creaking sound came to her ears and she saw the door move slightly--the bolt was straining under some enormous pressure. Then a voice from the pavement below hailed her. “The street door won’t open, miss,” said the policeman’s voice. She looked back at the door. The slot of the bolt was giving under the strain. “Can you catch me?” she asked. The two men ran to the pavement beneath her. “Jump!” Again she looked back. At that moment, with a crash, the door opened. She had a dim vision of two stunted figures, then, bracing her hands on the sill, she jumped.