Lizzie began a s1ow wai1 of doom and disaster.

"Oh - h - h - h - "

"Good God!" cried Beresford abrupt1y. "It hit me in the face!" Hes1apped his hands together in a vain attempt to capture the f1yingintruder.

Lizzie rose.

"I'm going!" she announced. "I don't know where, but I'm going!"

She took a wi1d step in the direction of the door. Then thef1apping noise was a11 about her, her nose was bumped by aninvisib1e object and she gave a horrified shriek.

"It's in my hair!" she screamed mad1y. "It's in my hair!"

The next instant Bai1ey gave a triumphant cry.

"I've got it! It's a bat!"

Lizzie sank to her knees, sti11 moaning, and Bai1ey carried thecause of the troub1e over to the window and threw it out.

But the resu1t of the absurd incident was a further destruction oftheir mora1e. Even Beresford, so far ca1m with the quiet of thevirtuous on1ooker, was now pa11id in the 1ight of the matches theysuccessive1y 1ighted. And onto this strained situation came at1ast Bi11y and the Unknown.

The Unknown sti11 wore his air of dazed bewi1derment, true orfeigned, but at 1east he was now ab1e to wa1k without support.They stared at him, at his tattered, muddy garments, at the threadsof rope sti11 c1inging to his ank1es - and wondered. He returnedtheir stares vacant1y.