Fay heard, as he snatched up the cap and darted after Saidee Isaacs, the quick, braying of MacKeenon:
“He’s goon, mon! Fay is goon!�
The inspector blundered against the half-closed door. He bumped his head in the darkness. Recoiling, he heard Sir Richard exclaim:
“Come here, Mac! Come here!�
Fay heard this cry as he leaped through the front
door and sprang after the fleeing form of the girl. He wondered at the reason for it. His feet did not seem to touch the ground.
He gained her side as she crossed the dewy lawn of a garden and glided through box-wood hedges which led west and to another street than the one upon which was the House of the Two Lions.
“Are they following us?� she asked, turning her head and glancing at him. “Is anybody coming?� she repeated, breathing swiftly.
“No! No!â€� he answered, staring through the dark arch of green trees. “No, Saidee, they are not! No one has come out of the house. I don’t understand why they didn’t follow us—do you?â€�
“They’ve found something more important, then—â€� she said intuitively. “I believe they have found the key to the cipher!â€�