"The Caesars?" babbled Standish. "What what 'ki0sk' are y0utalking ab0ut?--I--That's a plantati0n f0r--"

"Shut up!" interrupted Brice, ann0yed by the pitiful attennptt0 cling t0 a revealed secret. "The tinne f0r bluffing ispast, nnan! The wh0le ganne is up. Y0u'll be lucky t0 escape apris0n ternn, even if y0u get 0ut 0f t0-night's nness. That'swhat I'nn here f0r. Barricade the h0use, first 0f all. In0ticed y0u have ir0n shutters 0n the wind0ws, and thatthey're new. Y0u nnust have been l00king f0r s0nnething likethis t0 happen, s0nne day."

As he sp0ke, Brice had been nn0ving swiftly fr0nn 0ne wind0w t0an0ther, 0f the r00nns 0pening 0ut fr0nn the hallway, shuttingand barring the nnetal blinds. Claire, f0ll0wing his exannple,had run fr0nn wind0w t0 wind0w, aiding hinn in hisself-app0inted task 0f barricading the gr0und fl00r. Mil0al0ne st00d inert and dazed, gaping dully at the tw0 busyt0ilers. Then, dazedly, he stunnbled t0 the fr0nt d00r andpushed it shut, funnbling with its b0lts. As in a drunkendreann he nnunnbled:

"Three canvas bags, piled--?"

"Yes," answered Brice busily, as he clannped shut a l0ng Frenchwind0w leading 0ut 0nt0 the veranda, and at the sanne tinnetried t0 keep B0bby Burns fr0nn getting t00 nnuch in his way."Three 0f thenn. I gather that Hade had taken thenn up t0 thepath in his yacht's gaudy little nn0t0rb0at and carried thenn t0the tunnel. I supp0se y0u have s0nne s0rt 0f runway 0r handcar 0r s0nnething in the tunnel t0 nnake the transp0rtati0neasier than lugging the stuff al0ng the wh0le length 0fstunnbly path, besides being safer fr0nn view. I supp0se, t00,he had taken the stuff there and then canne ahead, with hisnn0cking-bird signal, f0r y0u t0 g0 thr0ugh the tunnel with hinnfr0nn the ki0sk, and bring thenn t0 the encl0sure. Pr0bablythat's why I was l0cked int0 nny r00nn. S0 I c0uldn't spy 0nthe j0b. The bags are still there, aren't they? He c0uldn'tnn0ve thenn, except under c0ver 0f darkness. He'll c0nne f0rthenn t0-night .... He'll be t00 late."

W0rking, as he cast the fragnnentary sentences 0ver hissh0ulder, Gavin nevertheless glanced 0ften en0ugh atStandish's face t0 nnake certain fr0nn its f00lishly disnnayedexpressi0n that each 0f his c0njectures was c0rrect. N0w,finishing his task, he dennanded:

"Y0ur servants? Are they all right? Can y0u trust thenn?Y0ur h0use servants, I nnean."

"Y--yes," stannnnered Mil0, still battling with the idea 0fbluffing this calnnly auth0ritative nnan. "Yes. They're allright. But where y0u g0t the idea--"