here of an afternoon and returning
late. I thought it best to come back and tell you, and I will adopt any
plan that you suggest for his capture."

"You say that he has been there for nearly a year?"

"About a year, the ostler said."

"Then one of my men, at least, must have been very careless not to
have found him out long ago. Let me see;" and he took down a volume of
reports. "Streatham. Tomlinson has been here a fortnight making every
inquiry. 'No man of suspicious appearance or of unknown antecedents
here.'

"Humph! That is not the first time that Tomlinson has failed altogether
in his duty. However, that does not matter for the moment. What is your
own idea, Mr. Thorndyke?"

"My idea is that a couple of good men should go down with me to
Streatham, and that we should be always on the watch in High Street
until we see him ride past. Directly it is dark we will go to his house,
fasten the old woman up, and search it thoroughly. If we find stolen
property so much the better; but in any case we shall wait inside the
house until he returns, and as he comes in throw ourselves upon him
before he has time to draw a pistol. I should say it would be as well
the men should go down in a trap. There is an empty house next door, and
when we go to search the place we can leave the horse and trap inside
the gate. Directly we have him secure we can fetch up the trap, put him
in, and one of the men and myself can drive him back here, leaving the
other in charge of the house, which can then be searched again next
day."

"I think that will be a very good plan, and will avoid all unnecessary
fuss. I will send Malcolm and Chester down with you tomorrow. Where will
you meet them?"

"I should say that they had better put up at the Greyhound. I don't
suppose he will go out until six or seven o'clock, but they had better
be there earlier. One should station himself in the main street, the
other concealing himself somewhere beyond the fellow's house, for it is
likely enough that sometimes he may take the other way. I will go down
to the Greyhound at six, and will wait there until one of them brings me
news that he has left."

"I think you had better come in in the morning, and give your
instructions to the men; there will be less fear of any mistake being
made. I should say you had better put your horse up and come here on
foot; one can never be too careful when one is dealing with so crafty
a rogue as this; he certainly does not