For a few seconds he held it in his hands in supreme delight. Then, taking from his pocket a blank piece of folded paper he put it into the envelope, and replacing it among the other documents which he arranged just as he had found them, he closed the safe and relocked it.
A second later he stole noiselessly out by the way he had come, the only evidence of his presence being the fact that the window was left unfastened, a fact which his friend Lily’s successor would, he felt sure, never notice.
But as, having slowly drawn down the window, he turned to ascend the steps a very strange and disconcerting incident occurred.
Chapter Fifteen.
The Master-Stroke.
Mr Richard Allen found himself, ere he was aware of it, in the strong grip of a burly police constable.
“And what ’ave you been up to ’ere—eh?” demanded the officer, who had gripped him tightly by the coat collar and arm.
“Nothing,” replied Allen. “I fancy you’ve made a mistake!”