t."

The keeper merely shook his head. Then an idea seemed to strike him,
and he stopped.

"Yes, it be a rum gun, bean't it, young genelmen?" he said, extending it
to them, but not loosing his hold of it. "That be one o' they
new-fangled air-guns. They don't make no bang when they goes off."

The group gathered round interested. The keeper explained the working
of the weapon, and from that got to talking on other matters--in fact,
was extraordinarily chatty and affable, which was remarkable, because
between gamekeepers and the Saint Kirwin's boys a state of natural
hostility existed.

"I've heard tell," he went on at last, "that there's a black African
young genelman up at the school there. If that's so, I'd like to make
so bold as to see he. I 'ad a brother servin' in the wars again they
Africans over yonder, and 'e told me a lot about 'em. Yes, I'd like to
see he."

Now, under ordinary circumstances, this request would have caused them,
in their own phraseology, to "smell a rat." Perhaps in this case it had
that effect all the same; but then, as ill-luck would have it, the group
the keeper had struck in this instance happened to be Jarnley and his
gang. Here was a chance to pay off old scores. Here was a noble
opportunity for revenge, and it would in all probability comprehend
Haviland too. Jarnley, Perkins, and Co. were simply jubilant.

"There's no difficulty about that, keeper," said the former, genially.
"You go to the gate of the west field and ask any fellow to point you
out Cetchy. I expect he'll be there now. Cetchy--mind, that's the
name."

"I'll remember, sir, and thankee kindly. Mornin', young genelmen."

Three-quarters of an hour later our friend Anthony, having, in obedience
to an urgent summons, hastened, though not without misgivings, to
present himself in the Doctor's study, found himself confronted by a
tall red-whiskered keeper, while on the table, exposed on a sheet of
newspaper, lay his lost air-gun and the corpse of a fine cock-pheasant.
Then he knew that the game was up.

"Yes, sir. That be he, right enough," said the keeper. "I saw him
several times as I was a chevyin' of him. There was a good moon, and
I'd swear to him anywhere, sir. There was another with him, sir, a tall
young chap, but I never got a chance of seeing his face. But this one,
I can swear to he."

"Very well," said the Doctor. "You had better go down to the porter's
lodge, and wait there in case