But he had little time for remorse. The great door of Cliveden opened; a servant appeared upon the threshold holding a light above his head; a tall, aristocratic man stood beside him.

“Are you quite sure it was the dog, Henry?” asked the latter.

“Quite,” replied the servant.

There was a pause; then both bent their heads as though listening: then the first speaker remarked:

[53]“It was some passing noise, I fancy. He seems quiet enough now.”

[53]

“Yes, sir,” said the servant, who was a stout, resolute looking fellow. “But had I not better take a look about?”

“There is no need,” said the master carelessly.

“Very well, sir.”

Both withdrew, the servant casting suspicious glances into the deep shadows about the house. Nat drew a breath of relief.

“That was rather a narrow escape,” he murmured. “From the way that fellow looked, I felt sure he’d be out here poking around with his light whether or no.”

Once more he cautiously made his way around the mansion. Some little distance away he caught the dense bulk of the barn; and the same instant he noted that a dim light was filtering through a small window at one side.

“A watchman, perhaps,” thought the boy, in keen disappointment. “If it is, that’s the end of my plan.”

However, he carefully advanced and peered through the window. A lantern hung upon[54] a wooden peg; there were some half dozen horses in the stalls, but, as far as he could see, no humans.

[54]

“In the loft, I suppose,” muttered Nat. “More than likely a stable hand, sent to look after the stock.”

He waited and watched for some time; once the sound of a door opening caught his ear; he turned and saw a barb of light flash along the ground; then the door closed and the light vanished.

“The servant, I suppose,” smiled Nat. “He was not satisfied and took another short look to assure 

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