Hotchkiss was listening absently: McKnight was whistling under his breath, staring down across the field to where a break in the woods showed a half dozen telegraph poles, the line of the railroad.
"It must have been twelve o'clock when we got back; I wanted the children to see everything, because it isn't likely they'll ever see an other wreck like that. Rows of—"
"About twelve o'clock," I broke in, "and what then?"
"The young man up-stairs was awake," she went on, "and hammering at his door like all possessed. And it was locked on the outside!" She paused to enjoy her sensation.
"I would like to see that lock," Hotchkiss said promptly, but for some reason the woman demurred. "I will bring the key down," she said and disappeared. When she returned she held out an ordinary door key of the cheapest variety.
"We had to break the lock," she volunteered, "and the key didn't turn up for two days. Then one of the twins found the turkey gobbler try-
