Edgar Wallace

“ He ran for the wall where he had left the rope and flung it up; at the second attempt the loop caught on the spikes and tightened. Tom Elmers took one grip of the rope and grinned. He had been instructed by his employer to devote his whole attention, and his every thought to the service which was demanded of him, but in that moment he forgot Mr. Palythorpe and remembered only that somewhere in the darkness an old man whom he hated was searching for him.
“Joe!” he mocked. “If it's you, come and fight, you old devil!” ”

“ He was surprised that there were so many people on the road. He did not know that their destination, too, was the Warden's Lodge, and when he came up to the place, walking—this he did not know—within a few feet of two interested watchers, he was under the impression that the men who had passed him had gone on.
It took him a very little time to get a grip on the spikes above, but at last his rope caught and held. He had not overstated his claim when he said he could climb like a cat, and he was over the wall in less than a minute. ”

“ What I want you to do, Tom, is to get inside that place, and it is not going to be easy. Can you climb?”
It was Mr. Elmers' one accomplishment, that he could climb like a cat, and he stated the fact immodestly.
“That'll be all right,” nodded Mr. Palythorpe. “There are some iron spikes on the top of the wall, and you could easily get a rope over them. I want you to get into the grounds and have a good look at the place. If there's a chance of sneaking into the lodge, and you can stay there any time without anybody knowing you're on the premises, so much the better.” ”