sat readin' the war news—as I always do. I expect I must 'ave dozed for a bit, but I woke up at eleven, 'ad another pipe and read a bit more of my paper. I heard Chiswick church-clock strike twelve, and then, after makin' up the stove again, I 'ad another doze, as I generally do. Of a sudden I was woke up by hearin' low whisperin'. My lamp was out—it 'ad gone out because I 'adn't much oil. But I was on the alert in a moment, for I saw the light of an electric torch a movin' about at the other end of the shed, and two figures were a gropin' about and whisperin'. I'll swear one was a woman!"
'A woman!' I gasped. 'What did you do?'
'I took up my bit o' rubber tyre, bent down, and crept noiselessly along. It seemed as if they were examining those three electric coils, and were perhaps a tryin' to find the box what'
'Happily, I took the precaution to bring it away yesterday afternoon, and have it here, in the next room,' I interrupted.
'Good. Excellent, sir! My idea is that they were after that there box. I'm dead certain of it,' old Theed said. 'Well, I bent well below the benches and nearly got up to 'em in order to flash my lamp, an' so take 'em by surprise, when, of a sudden, somebody clipped me hard over the 'ead, and I knew nothing more till I awoke at daylight, and found this!' he added, pointing to a spot on the back of his head upon which was a big lump and a large piece of black sticking-plaster.
'Then there must have been a third person present—eh?'
'There must! He'd evidently been a watchin' me,
