Wich the back door blind and bolted shut,

chance to get in. You follow me?" he asked anxiously. "I'm trying very hard." "But first" (Louki spread his hands dramatically) "but first they will make sure we are not in the town. They would be fools to block the roads if we were already in the town. They must make sure we are not in the town. And sothe search. The very great search. Withhow do you say?the teeth-comb!" Mallory nodded his head in slow understanding. "I'm afraid he's right, Andrea." "I, too, fear so," Andrea said unhappily. "We should have thought of this. But perhaps we could hidethe roof-tops or" "With a teeth-comb, I said!" Louki interrupted impatiently. "But all is well. I, Louki have thought it all out. I can smell rain. There will be clouds over the moon before long, and it will be safe to move. . . . You do not want to know what I have don? with the car, Major Mallory?" Louki was enjoying himself immensely. "Forgotten all about it," Mallory confessed. "What did you do with the car?" "I left it in the courtyard of Vygos castle. Then I emptied all the petrol from the tank and poured it over the car. Then I struck a match." "You did what?" Mallory was incredulous. "I struck a match. I think I was standing too near the car, for I do not seem to have any eyebrows left." Louki sighed. "A pityit was such a splendid machine." Then he brightened. "But before God, Major, it burned magnificently." Mallory stared at him. "Why on earth?" "It is simple," Louki explained patiently. "By this time the men out in the Devil's Playground must know that their car has been stolen. They see the fire. They hurry back tohow do you say?" "Investigate?" "So. Investigate. They wait till the fire dies down. They investigate again. No bodies, no bones in the car, so they search the castle. And what do they find?" There was silence in the room. "Nothing!" Louki said impatiently. "They find nothing. And then they search the countryside for half a mile around. And what do they find? Again nothing. So then they know that they have been fooled, and that we are in the town, and will come to search the town." "With the teeth-comb,"