In the vast pile of buildings owned by James O'Donnell in Rathclare, by day several hundred men were employed, by night several score; for the steam mills were kept going day and night, and got no rest from year's end to year's end, save from twelve o'clock on Saturday night to six o'clock on Monday morning. In the portion of the buildings devoted to milling operations most of the night-men were employed. In fact, so far as active employment was concerned, no men were engaged anywhere else in the place. There were, however, three watchmen for the other portions of the building. One of these was outside in the yard fronting the river, another was on the ground-floor of the granaries, and it was the duty of the third to wander about the upper lofts and corridors. Of late these men had been cautioned to observe greater vigilance. It was well known in Rathclare that the strong-room of James O'Donnell always contained a large sum of money, and sometimes a very large sum. The man whose duty it was to examine the lofts passed along the corridor leading to the private office. All was right, so far. He always made it a habit to pause and listen at the door of the private room; for if an attempt was to be made upon the safe it should be from this place. The man went on in a leisurely way, ascended the next ladder he met, strolled along the lofts, ascended another ladder, sat down on a pile of empty sacks, and lit his pipe. Smoking was not, of course, allowed, but then there was no one to see him. When he had finished his pipe he ascended to the top loft and walked all round from one end of the building to the other, pausing now and then to listen at the head of a ladder or at a trap-door, or to look out of a window into the deserted street below. This took a long time, for there was no need of haste. It was an understood thing among the watchmen that each should speak to the other two about once an hour. Thus it would be known each hour that all was well throughout the building. The watchman now began to descend. He went down more rapidly than he came up. It was quite dark, and the silence was unbroken save by the noise of the machinery and the swirl of the river as it swept past the wharf and quays and ships below, and whispered among the chains and ropes. The three men generally met in fine weather such as this on the wharf. It was pleasant to the two men, whose business lay indoors, to breathe for a few moments the cool air by the river. From the wharf no portion of the offices could be seen. They looked into the great quadrangle round which the granaries were built. When the three men had stood and interchanged a few words they separated, each of the two going in his own direction, the third man remaining on the wharf. The man whose duty lay on the upper floors passed into the large quadrangle, round which the granaries stood. At first he noticed nothing remarkable; but when his eyes fell on the windows of James O'Donnell's office he started visibly, and uttered an exclamation of surprise under his breath. The windows were full of light! What should he do? What could this mean? He had, of course, heard of the misfortunes which had fallen upon his master's house that day, but he made no connection between that fact and this extraordinary appearance. The warning against possible burglars was uppermost in his mind. Although he was nearly sure no one was then in that office for an honest purpose, still he resolved to proceed with the greatest caution, and give no unnecessary alarm. He went out on the wharf and told the other man what he had seen. They both agreed that it would now be useless to try and overtake their other comrade, and that it would be best for the two of them to go to the office at once and see how matters stood there. When they got indoors they took off their boots and proceeded cautiously to the foot of the stairs leading to the offices. Each carried a stout stick in his hand, and each man was physically qualified to take care of himself in a scuffle. They agreed it wouldn't do to get some more of the hands from the mill and proceed to the office as though they were sure of finding burglars there; for how could they tell that it was not the manager, or their employer himself, who had been obliged to come back owing to some urgent business? They crept cautiously up the stairs and found themselves in the corridor, upon which the office door opened. Here all was dark and silent. Here they were confronted by a difficulty they had not anticipated. If it should be that the manager or the proprietor had come back at this unseasonable hour, the proper thing would be, of course, to knock at the door and ask if all were right. But supposing there were burglars inside, knocking at the door would be simply to put them on their guard, and enable them to take up a defensive or offensive position before the others could enter: What was to be done? As if by a common instinct, the two men retired to the further end of the passage to hold a brief council. There was no means of escaping from that room except by this passage or the window. That window was not barred, and nothing could be easier than to get from it by a ladder or a rope. The first thing, therefore, to be ascertained was--did a ladder or a rope lead from that window to the ground of the quadrangle? It was then agreed between the two that one of them should go down and examine the window from the outside, while the other waited in the passage here and watched, the door until his fellow came back. One of the men descended to the ground-floor, got out into the quadrangle, and looked at the window, and the ground near the window. It was a dark night, and one could not see small objects distinctly. The man was not content with the evidence of his eyes alone. He stole over under the window, and placing his hand against the wall, walked forward and backward, ascertaining by touch that neither ladder nor rope connected the window with the yard. When he was satisfied on this point, he stole back to his companion and communicated the fact to him. So far all was well. They had not now to think of any means of exit but the one before them. Still it was not easy to know what to do. Now it occurred to them for the first time that it was not at all consistent with the belief burglars were at work that the gas should be fully ablaze. Although there never had been an attempt to rob the mill on a large scale, or by violence, and the watchmen had no personal experience of burglars yet, it was their business to know something about how that predatory tribe carry on their operations. It was not likely such men would attempt to force the door of a strong-room, made on the very best principles, with the light turned fully up. A dark lantern and silent matches were more the manner of the midnight thief than the great openness and defiance of gas. It must surely be someone connected with the business. It was well they had not made a fuss about the matter, and now it would be well that they should delay no longer to prove their diligence by showing they had observed the unusual fact of the gas being burning. Yes, there could be no longer any doubt their manager or employer was behind that door. There would be something absurd in the fact of two fine strapping fellows like them going up to that door in their vamps. It would show they had suspected someone was there who had no right to be there, and this might give offence. It would be best for them to put on their boots before knocking; besides, if they knocked as they were now, whoever was inside might think they had been prying. When they reached the open air they put on their boots quickly. Then it occurred to them that, as they were now quite certain it was someone belonging to the business who was in the office, it would never do for two of them to appear at the door simultaneously. The duty of one man was to be on the wharf, and of the other to be on the lofts or in the passages, and if they had no suspicion wrong was going forward, why should the wharfman desert his post? They, therefore, agreed that the loftman alone should go back and prove his vigilance by knocking and saying that he had observed the light. The two parted. The loftman, starting with his usual measured tread, crossed the quadrangle, entered the dark passages, ascended the stairs, and knocked at the door. Two minutes after he rushed out upon the wharf, exclaiming in an undertone: "Do you know who's there?" "No. Who?" "No one. Come back with me and see if I am right. I can't believe my eyes. There isn't a soul there as far as I can see, in the office or in the passages." The two men went back to the passage, entered the private office, found the gas at full cock, and the place empty!