The Saint Meets His Match (She was a Lady)

and the other voices died down also.

Then Flash Arne spat an unprintable word.

Keld yapped: 'He couldn't've got outa those ropes—not by hisself, he couldn't——'

'There's the rope there on the floor where he was,' Ganning hissed derisively. 'I suppose he just melted and trickled through it and froze again on the other side.'

'Don't talk soft,' snarled Harver. 'We know Albert George was a liar. One of his pals has been in here while we were outside——'

'Quate,' said the Saint apologetically. 'Oh, quate!'

Harver whipped round, his fists doubling; but the automatic in the Saint's hand discouraged him. It discouraged Ganning, who was renowned for his slick-ness on the draw, and Flash Arne, who knew some tricks of his own; and it discouraged Matthew Keld, that vio­lent but efficient rope expert.

'Sorry,' said the Saint, without regret, 'but it's a cop as George said.'

Red Harver, peering savagely at him, recognized him by his voice.

'You——'

'Oh, no,' said the Saint in distress. 'Never. I hate sit­ting with my back to the engine.'

He herded the four men into a convenient corner, in his briskly persuasive way, and raised his voice to Jill. Lord Essenden came through the door first, and Ganning drew in his breath sharply; but the mystery was solved when Jill Trelawney followed.

'If you'll take over,' said the Saint, 'I'll go and look for some more rope.'

The girl nodded briefly. Her automatic, swinging in a little arc over the latitude of the five prisoners, said all that there was left to say.

Simon went swiftly through the pockets of the group, and brought back four guns, two life preservers, a knife, and a razor, which he deposited in the coal scuttle with a faint gesture of distaste.

Then he sought the kitchen, and presently came back with six fathoms of good cord.

His methods of roping were less primitive than those of Matthew Keld, but they were equally efficient. When he had finished, only four Houdinis could have restored Messrs. Arne, Ganning, Keld, and Harver to the position of mobile actors in the scene. Essenden, however, he left. 'You might,' he suggested to Jill, 'want to ask his lordship a few questions. And I might want this rope's end to encourage him to answer.'

He made a long yard of rope  whistle horrifically through the air; but the girl shook her head.

'He's already started to answer.'

Simon raised his eyebrows.

'Have you rung a bell?'

Essenden spoke in a cracked voice: 'Of course I've answered. Why shouldn't I have meant what I said in my advertisement? But I thought you might think my ad­vertisement was a trap, so I had to protect myself. That's the only reason I brought these other men into it.'

'A beautiful bunch!' murmured the Saint skepti­cally. His leisured gaze swept over the quartet like a genial blizzard. 'I think I know them all. I know about Red Harver's seven years for manslaughter—which ought to have been a quick hanging for murder. I know all about Brother Matthew and the Waikiki Club. I know how Flash Arne gets the money to buy his diamond rings. And I've met Snake Ganning before. Say 'how d'you do,' Snake.'