heets and
was asleep even before my host entered my room to take away my soaked
clothing to be dried.

My sleep might have lasted one second. In point of fact I slept until
nine o'clock the next morning, and should have continued to sleep if I
had not felt a hand on my arm shaking me, and heard a voice bidding me
arise. Fancying I was at home, and that my man was calling me, I said,
"All right, Wilson," and turned over for another snooze.

"Now then, get up out of that!" said the voice. "None of your shamming!
We are not to be put off that way."

It was not Wilson's voice. Wondering what was happening, I sat up in bed
and rubbed my eyes sleepily.

"What the deuce----!" I began. Then I stopped suddenly. A couple of
constables in uniform stood at the bedside, and I gathered that it was
the voice of the sergeant which had so rudely disturbed my slumbers.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"You know well enough," replied the sergeant. "You make haste and dress
yourself and come along with us."

I thought my senses had deserted me.

"What in the name of good fortune for?" I asked.

"You're not going to kid us, my good feller," he answered. Adding
facetiously, "If we puts a name to it and calls it piracy on the 'igh
road, I wonder what you'll 'ave to say to it, remembering, of course,
that anything you do say will be taken down and used in evidence against
you."

Then all that had happened flashed across my mind; my strange appearance
and arrival at the inn; my peculiar manner; my possession of plenty of
money; the curious glances of the village folk; the fact that somewhere
in the vicinity the Motor Pirate had last been seen. Under the
circumstances, nothing could be more likely than that the bucolic
intelligence should jump to the conclusion that I was the famous
criminal. To me, however, the idea seemed so absurd that I fell into
hearty laughter. My merriment seemed to annoy the sergeant, for he
declared crossly that if I did not dress quickly, he would find himself
under the necessity of taking me away as I was.

I thought it expedient to temporize, and as a result of a little
diplomacy, in which one of the coins from my pocket found another
resting-place, I obtained permission to breakfast before I left.

I made a hearty meal, the landlord attending upon my wants. I was glad
to see that he, at least, had no hand in thrusting upon me the indignity
of being arrested. He explained as much, telling my captors t