etly that no one in the house need know of it, and that we
would, if possible, arrange it so that the place of his arrest
should not be made public.

"At that, she at once consented to do all that we wished her. We
searched his room carefully, and found some watches, rings, and
other matters, that answered to the description of those stolen
from a coach that was stopped near Dorking, three weeks ago. My
mate has taken them away. As she was afraid that a scuffle in the
bedroom might attract the attention of the four other gentlemen who
are lodging here, I arranged that it should be done at the door. In
that case, if there was any inquiry in the morning, she could say
that it was some drunken fellow, who had come to the house by
mistake, and had tried to force his way in.

"So she put this parlour at our disposal, and, as I have got the
shutters up and the curtains drawn, there is no fear of his
noticing the light, for, as we may have some hours to wait, it is
more pleasant to have a candle, than to sit in the dark."

"Does she come down to let him in?" Harry asked.

"No, sir, the door is left on the latch. She says he finds his way
up to his room, in the dark, and the candle and a tinderbox are
always placed handy for him there. We will take our shoes off
presently, and, when we hear footsteps come up to the door and
stop, we will blow out the candle and steal out into the passage,
so as to catch him directly he closes the door. I have got
handcuffs here, some rope, and a gag."

"Very well, then. I will undertake the actual seizing of him,"
Charlie said. "You slip on the handcuffs, and you, Harry, if you
can find his throat in the dark, grip it pretty tightly, till Tony
can slip the gag into his mouth. Then he can light the candle
again, and we can then disarm and search him, fasten his legs, and
get him ready to put in the cart."

The hours passed slowly, although Tony did his best to divert them,
by telling stories of various arrests and captures in which he had
been concerned. The clock had just struck five, when they heard a
step coming up the quiet street.

"That is likely to be the man," Tony said. "It is about the hour we
expected him."

He blew out the candle and opened the door quietly, and they went
out into the passage. A moment later the step stopped at the door,
the latch clicked, and it was opened. A man entered, and closed the
door behind him. As he did so Charlie, who had marked his exact
posi