the trees and the empty
pantechnicon-van. The great black shape appeared to give him an idea.
The doors were open, and without hesitation he stepped back into the
hall, picked up one of the prostrate figures, and carried it into the
van; a moment later he did the same with the other. Closing the doors,
he barred and padlocked them and re-entered the hall.

Later he returned to the pantechnicon, unfastened the padlock, and left
the doors merely barred. Still grinning to himself he once more
entered the house, picking up an old-fashioned pistol from many that
lay upon the dining-room table. Next he opened the dining-room windows
at the bottom, performing the same operation with those in the
morning-room.

Finally, locking the doors of both rooms from the outside, he made a
tour of the whole house, and, having satisfied himself that no one was
secreted within, he slipped out of the front door and closed it behind
him, unaware that a pair of terrified eyes were watching him from the
head of the stairs.

"There's two still to come," he muttered, and waited. At the end of an
hour he heard a grind as of gravel beneath a boot. He listened
eagerly. After fully five minutes of silence he heard another grind,
and a dark shape approached the dining-room window. The foreman still
waited. It took a quarter of an hour for the shape to make up its mind
to raise the window higher and enter. The sound of suppressed wheezing
could be distinctly heard. When the figure had with difficulty forced
itself upon the window-sill, the foreman leapt out, grasped its leg,
and pulled. There was a wheezy shout, and the foreman was kneeling on
the path, with a figure between his knees and the gravel.

Again he struck a match, which disclosed the ashen features of the
landlord of the Dove and Easel. Without hesitation the foreman picked
him up and bundled him into the pantechnicon and once more barred the
door. As he turned back he saw the hall door open slightly. At first
he thought it was his imagination. As he watched, however, the door
continued to open stealthily, inch by inch, until finally a figure
appeared.

Dawn was breaking, and in the half-light he saw a small man slide out
and creep along by the side of the house. At first the foreman
watched; then, seeing that his man was likely to escape, he sprang out.
The figure ran, the foreman ran, and ran the faster. Then the fugitive
stopped, and facing round caught the forema