Strategy,
therefore, rather than force was to be employed, and strategy to be
successful must be founded upon the most thorough knowledge of the
matter with which one has to deal. Three days, then, did I give to the
acquiring of that knowledge, the result of which was the possession
of the following facts.
1. That the landlady was right when she told me the girl was never
left alone, one of the men, if not the father then the son, always
remaining with her.
2. That while thus guarded, she was not so restricted but that she had
the liberty of walking in the hall, though never for any length of
time.
3. That the cross on the door seemed to possess some secret meaning
connected with their presence in the house, it having been erased one
evening when the whole three went out on some matter or other, only
to be chalked on again when in an hour or so later, father and
daughter returned alone.
4. That it was the father and not the son who made such purchases as
were needed, while it was the son and not the father who carried on
whatever operations they had on hand; nightfall being the favorite
hour for the one and midnight for the other; though it not
infrequently happened that the latter sauntered out for a short time
also in the afternoon, probably for the drink he could not go long
without.
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