He found himself looking out upon the leads of Albemarle
Street. No stars and no moon showed through the grey clouds draping
the wintry sky, but a dim and ghostly half-light nevertheless rendered
the ugly expanse visible from where he stood.
On one side loomed a huge tank, to the brink of which a rickety wooden
ladder invited the explorer to ascend. Beyond it were a series of iron
gangways and ladders forming part of the fire emergency arrangements
of the neighboring institution. Straight ahead a section of building
jutted up and revealed two small windows, which seemed to regard him
like watching eyes.
He walked out on to the roof, looking all about him. Beyond the tank
opened a frowning gully--the Arcade connecting Albemarle Street with
old Bond Street; on the other hand, the scheme of fire gangways was
continued. He began to cross the leads, going in the direction of Bond
Street. Coombes watched him from the study. When he came to the more
northerly of the two windows which had attracted his attention, he
knelt down and flashed the ray of his torch through the glass.
A kind of small warehouse was revealed, containing stacks of packages.
Immediately inside the window was a rough wooden table, and on this
table lay a number of smaller packages, apparently containing
cigarettes.
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