RANSVESTIA

"I left it up there," the young man responded.

"Damn it. You should have brought it. We're gonna need it to get past any electric fences they got in here."

"How do you know there's a fence in there?" cowboy boots inter- jected.

"They got fences in all these places - I seen enough of 'em to know." He turned to the young man again. “Listen, go back up there and get that poncho now. I reckon Jess and I'll have this door open in a minute."

Obediently the young man dropped his burlap sacks and handed his flashlight to cowboy boots and headed for the elevators. Harry was quick to recognize his opportunity. The temporary division of forces might give him a chance to meet one intruder on an even basis. If he could just slip away silently from his station amongst the mannequins without attracting the attention of the others there might be a chance of catching the young man alone.

As the elevator doors closed Harry turned cautiously, carefully making certain that he did not bump any of his plaster friends. He backed out of the display area very slowly, his eyes glued on the two remaining burglars who were absorbed in their work. The floor was carpeted and he moved with the stealth of a cat, crouching until he was safely be- yond their range of vision. Straightening up he hurried once again to the escalator and ascended to the fifth floor. He started to the sixth floor moving one step at a time. He listened carefully for any sound of the young burglar. As he approached the circle of light at the top he crouched to his knees. From this vantage point he could see part of the sixth floor. From the passage of time Harry judged that the burglar using the elevator had arrived at the sixth floor ahead of him. Suddenly the young man appeared in the circle of light to the left of the escalator's opening. His back was toward Harry and he was heading rapidly for the stockroom. The suddenness of his appearance almost caused Harry to slip and fall backwards down the escalator shaft. He grabbed the side of the escalator just in time to regain his equilibrium without a sound.

Harry waited a moment and then followed moving quickly out of the lighted area around the mouth of the escalator. A vague plan was form- ing in his mind. While the young burglar headed for the stockroom Harry headed for the drapery department to one side. He had seen some lengths of cloth on a cutting table there on his earlier rounds. He found