r.

"Silence," he said fiercely, as he crept back to the window and stooped
to peer into the night.

Along the fence which formed the boundary of the bank's ground, the
fence Durham had pointed out as the one over which Eustace must have
made his escape, he saw the figure of a man stealthily creeping.

He thrust his hand into the pocket where he had slipped the revolver
Brennan had given him.

"Fred! Fred! What do you see?" he heard Mrs. Eustace whisper, and in the
dim obscurity he saw her come to his side.

"Quiet," he said harshly.

Both her hands, trembling, touched his arm.

"Tell me," she whispered; "I will be brave. Who is it you see?"

The thin streak of moonlight falling through the narrow space between
the blind and the window glinted on the bright barrel of the revolver,
as he drew it from his pocket.

She fell on her knees beside him, her arms flung round him, her voice in
his ear.

"Oh, Fred--no, not that! Is it Charlie? Oh, don't--don't----"

He pushed her back roughly, his eyes straining to catch another glimpse
of the creeping figure which had gone out of sight as he raised his
revolver ready to fire.

"Oh, no, no! Don't shoot him! Don't, Fred, don't! He----"

Her words ended in a shriek, for even as she spoke there appeared
outside the window, showing clear with the moonlight falling full upon
it, the face of a yellow-bearded man. Harding wrested himself free from
her clinging arms, leapt to the window, and tore the blind away.

The form of the man, running swiftly, was disappearing amongst the
bushes.

Heedless of the glass in front of him, of the terrified woman at his
knees, Harding raised his revolver and fired.

As the shivered glass crashed to the ground, the report of other shots,
fired in rapid succession, came from outside, and across the patch of
grass, firing as he ran, Brennan dashed after the runaway.

Harding scrambled through the broken window and ran after him.

From behind the clustering shrubs which formed a screen in front of the
chicken-run, there came the sound of horses galloping. Brennan stopped
as he heard it. When Harding caught up to him, he was rapidly reloading
his revolver.

"He's slipped us," he cried. "The sub-inspector has my horse, and
ordered me not to leave the bank till he came back. And there's that
scoundrel riding away from under our noses!"

"Did you see him?" Harding exclaimed.

"See him? Wasn't I crawling on him round the house when she