"And he's left you here alone, with no one around but this woman?" Laurie asked, incredulously. Here was another situation hard to understand. "His secretary is somewhere around, a wretched jackal that does what he's told." "Oh!" This was news. "Where is he?" "Out in the garage. He has a room there. I heard him say he had no sleep last night, and that he expected to get some to-day." Laurie rose. "I'll take a look around and see where he is," he suggested. "We can't have him catching on to my little visit and telephoning to Shaw, you know." As he spoke he was walking toward the door that led into the hall, and now he confidently put out his hand and turned the knob. His expression changed. He gave the knob a violent twist, then, setting his shoulder against the jamb, tried to wrench the door open. It did not yield. Doris, watching him wide-eyed, was the first to speak. "Locked?" she whispered. "Locked," corroborated Laurie. He nodded thoughtfully. Several things, small in themselves, which had puzzled him, were clearing up. Among others, the housekeeper's persistent efforts to gain time were now explained. Shaw had not been so careless as he had seemed. The meek blond secretary with the pursuing eyes and the chloroforming habit was certainly in the house. CHAPTER XIV LAURIE CHECKS A REVELATION Laurie shook his head. "That was rather stupid of him," he remarked, mildly. "It's almost as easy to force open a locked door from the inside as from the outside." "I know." Doris was again breathless. "But in the meantime he's telephoning to Shaw." "I don't think so." Laurie, his hands in his pockets, was making a characteristic turn around the room. "What has he to gain by telephoning? Shaw's coming back anyway in a few hours; and in the meantime the secretary has got me safely pocketed, or thinks he has. I have an idea he'll stand pat. You see, he doesn't know about my talent for opening locked doors." He strolled back to the door as he spoke and examined the lock. Then, appreciatively, he drew from his pocket the screw-driver he had thoughtfully brought from the garage. "I fancied this might be useful. It will take me just about four minutes to open that door," he announced. "So get on your things and be ready to start in a hurry." "Do you imagine that we can get away now, in broad daylight?" She seemed dazed by the suggestion. "Why not? You want to get out of here, don't you?" "Yes--I--of course I do!" "You don't seem very sure of it." Laurie was smiling down at her with his hands still in his pockets, but there was an expression in his eyes she had never seen there before, an expression keen, cold, almost but not quite suspicious. "Yes, but--you don't understand. Shaw has other men on watch, two of them." "Where?" "In the grounds. One in the front and the other in the back." The new-comer mentally digested this unwelcome information. "If we wait till it's dark," said the girl, "we'll have a better chance."