Produced by Darleen Dove, Suzanne Shell, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE HOUSE BY THE LOCK THE HOUSE BY THE LOCK By MRS. C. N. WILLIAMSON _Co-author of "The Lightning Conductor," "My Lady Cinderella," etc._ NEW YORK B. W. DODGE AND COMPANY 1906 PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS BROOKLYN, N. Y. CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE LADY IN THE STAGE BOX 1 II. THE MAN WITH THE PALE EYES 12 III. A DEAD MAN'S HAND 22 IV. THE HOUSE BY THE LOCK 30 V. WAS IT A MYSTERY? 38 VI. AN ADVENTURE IN THE PARK 53 VII. FRIENDS 67 VIII. AN ANNOUNCEMENT 74 IX. TOO LATE 83 X. "IF HE HAD COMMITTED A CRIME" 92 XI. WILDRED SCORES 99 XII. KARINE'S ENGAGEMENT RING 116 XIII. "KISMET AND MISS CUNNINGHAM" 121 XIV. AN EXTRA SPECIAL 133 XV. A MYSTERY OF THE THAMES 136 XVI. INFORMATION LAID BY CARSON WILDRED 143 XVII. A DISAPPOINTMENT 152 XVIII. A DESPERATE REMEDY 166 XIX. "NOT AT HOME" 176 XX. THE QUEST 188 XXI. A PICTURE FROM THE PAST 208 XXII. FACE TO FACE 220 XXIII. A COUNTERFEIT PRESENTMENT 224 XXIV. FIRE! 232 XXV. "IT'S DOGGED AS DOES IT" 239 XXVI. A TELL-TALE ORNAMENT 246 XXVII. TOO LATE! 269 XXVIII. A WILD-GOOSE CHASE 276 XXIX. AT THE HOUSE BY THE LOCK 284 XXX. CONCLUSION 298 THE HOUSE BY THE LOCK CHAPTER I The Lady in the Stage Box "Hullo, old chap! Who would ever have thought of seeing you here to-night? What's brought you back to civilisation again?" I turned suddenly, surprised by the sound of a familiar voice in my ear. It was the night of Christmas Eve, and I was just entering the lobby of the St. James's, the first time, as it happened, I had seen the inside of a theatre for two years.