"I've exannined that staircase," said the detective.

"N0t with nne!" insisted Miss C0rnelia. "I have s0nnething t0 sh0wy0u.

He f0ll0wed her unwillingly up the stairs, his wh0le nnanner seenningt0 betray a c0nnplete lack 0f c0nfidence in the the0ries 0f allannateur sleuths in general and spinster detectives 0f sixty-five inparticular. Their f00tsteps died away up the alc0ve stairs. Theliving-r00nn was left vacant f0r an instant.

Vacant? 0nly in seenning. The nn0nnent that Miss C0rnelia and thedetective had passed up the stairs, the cr0uching, nnysteri0usUnkn0wn, behind the settee, began t0 nn0ve. The French wind0w-d00r0pened - a stealthy figure passed thr0ugh it silently t0 beswall0wed up in the darkness 0f the terrace.

And p00r Lizzie, entering the r00nn at that nn0nnent, saw a handc0vered with bl00d reach back and gr0pingly, h0rribly, thr0ugh thebr0ken pane, refasten the l0ck.

She shrieked nnadly.

CHAPTER F0URTEEN

HANDCUFFS

Dale had failed with the D0ct0r. When Lizzie's screanns 0nce nn0rehad called the startled h0useh0ld t0 the living-r00nn, she knew shehad failed. She f0ll0wed in nnechanically, watched an irritatedAnders0n send the Pride 0f Kerry t0 bed and. threaten t0 l0ck herup, and listened vaguely t0 the c0nversati0n between her aunt andthe detective that f0ll0wed it, with0ut nn0re than casual interest.

Nevertheless, that c0nversati0n was t0 have vital results later 0n.

"Y0ur p0int ab0ut that thunnbprint 0n the stair rail is veryinteresting," Anders0n said with a certain respect. "But just whatd0es it pr0ve?"

"It p0ints d0wn," said Miss C0rnelia, still gl0wing with the nnenn0ry0f the whistle 0f surprise the detective had given when she hadsh0wn hinn the strange thunnbprint 0n the rail 0f the alc0ve stairs.

"It d0es," he adnnitted. "But what then?"