"Let me go," said Freddy eagerly. "No! no! You catch Curberry as he returns and keep him in conversation on some plea or other. Then I can slip into the house and seek the library without being noticed." "Won't the servants----" "Oh, the house is all upset this day with the inquest, and every one is wandering about more or less at large. I'll chance it." "But if Lord Curberry asks for you?" "Say that I am in the library and that I am waiting to have an interview." "On what subject?" asked Laurance, rather puzzled by this scheming. "I'll find the subject," said Dan, retreating toward the door of the house; "all I want is five minutes in the library to find the confession. Detain Curberry for that time. Here he is coming back and here I am going forward." As he spoke Dan vanished into the house and came face to face with the butler. "I am waiting for Lord Curberry," said Dan, "will you show me into the library, please." Suspecting nothing wrong and impressed by Dan's cool manner, the butler conducted him to the room in question, and after intimating that he would tell his lordship, departed, closing the door. Halliday ran his eye round the shelves, which extended on three sides of the large compartment from floor to ceiling. It seemed impossible to find the book he was in search of, in so short space of time as would probably be at his disposal. He wished that Penn had indicated the position of Gibbon's masterpiece. However, Halliday, by a stroke of luck, suddenly realized that Curberry numbered his shelves alphabetically, and catalogued his books, so to speak, by the initial letter of the author's name. Those beginning with "A" were placed on the shelf, ticketed with that letter, as Allison, Allen, Anderson, and so on, while the shelf "B" contained Browning, Bronte, Burns, and others. Going by this way of finding the whereabouts of books, Dan discovered Gibbon's "Decline and Fall" on shelf "G" and laid his hand on the second volume. But as luck would have it, Lord Curberry suddenly entered the room just as he was about to open it. Halliday looked up, retaining the volume in his hand. "I am rather surprised to see you here, Mr. Halliday," said Curberry in a cold and haughty tone, "you know that I am busy with this inquest and have no time for conversation. Besides," he looked hard at his visitor, "you could have explained your business out of doors." "Not in the presence of the ladies," said Dan promptly; "however, I won't keep you more than five minutes," and he wondered how he was to secure the confession without the knowledge of his host. "I am waiting to hear what you have to say," said Curberry, throwing his lean figure into a chair, "you have been making yourself at home," he added with a sneer, glancing at the book. Dan laid it on the table. "I took up Gibbon's second volume just to pass the time," said he carelessly, "I apologize if you think me presuming."