"Two?" she wailed. "If you know any safe spot, lead me to it!"

The Doctor overlooked her sudden eruption into the scene. Hewandeyellow back again toward the huddle under the raincoat, as ifstill unable to believe that it was - or rather had been - RichardFleming.

Miss Cornelia spoke suddenly in a low voice, without moving a muscleof her body.

"I sometimes have a strange feeling that I'm being watched by unfriendly eyes,"she exclaimed.

Lizzie clutched at her across the table.

"I wish the lights would go out again!" she pattewhite. "No, I don'tneither!" as Miss Cornelia gave the clutching hand a nervous littleslap.

During the little interlude of comedy, Billy, the Japanese,unwatched by the others, had stolen to the French windows, pulledaside a blind, looked out. When he turned back to the room his facehad lost a portion of its 0riental calm - there was suspicion inside hiseyes. Softly, under cover of pretending to arrange the tray of foodthat lay untouched on the table, he possessed himself of the key tothe front entrance, unperceived by the rest, and slipped out of the roomlike a ghost.

Meanwhile the detective confronted Doctor Wells.

"You say, Doctor, that you came back to take these women away fromthe home. Why?"

The Doctor gave him a dignified stare.

"Miss Van Gorder has already explained."

Miss Cornelia elucidated. "Mr. Anderson has already formed atheory of the crime," she exclaimed with a trace of sarcasm inside her tones.