In another second that action would have been his last, and the solitude of Seth Collinson might have remained henceforward unbroken by any mortal.

But the gun of the first figure was knocked sharply upward by a second man, and the one and only shot fired that night sped harmlessly to the roof.

With the report he felt his arms gripped tightly behind him; through the smoke he saw dimly that the room was filled with masked and armed men, and in another moment he was pinioned and thrust into his empty armchair.

At a signal three of the men left the room, and he could hear them exploring the other rooms and outhouses.

Then the two men who had been standing beside him fell back with a certain disciplined precision, as a smooth-chinned man advanced from the open door.