"Guess they've skipped," said one of the men.
After ringing several times, Captain Long said:
"Two of you stay here and the rest of us will go round to the rear, and see if we can get in without smashing a door, and," he added, "keep an eye on those side windows."
They found the two officers waiting at the rear.
"Seen anything?" asked Captain Long.
"Not a thing," was the reply.
They found the back door locked with the key on the inside, and, remarking that he guessed they would have to break a window, the captain took a small diamond glass cutter from his pocket and scratched a circle about six inches in diameter on the window pane, just above the catch. A quick push shoved it in, and reaching his hand through, he soon had the window open.
"Now, Bill," he said, turning to one of the men, "you jump in and unlock the door."
"In a minute they were in the house, and passing through to the front door, admitted the others. Leaving one man on guard at the front door, another at the rear, while a third was stationed in the middle room, the rest made a thorough search of the upper part of the house. But, to their disappointment, they found no one. They returned to the first floor and the captain said:
"Now we'll go down to the basement."