ace in time to see a dark figure drop over the balustrade and fly
across the park.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE CAPTURE OF "JACK"

Pinto leapt the parapet and was following swiftly in its wake. He
guessed rather than knew that for once Jack o' Judgment had come
unarmed, and a wild exultation filled him at the thought that it was
left to him to unveil the mystery which was weighing even upon the iron
nerve of the colonel.

The figure gained the shrubbery, and the pursuer heard the rustle of
leaves as it plunged into the depths. In a second he was blundering
after. He lost sight of his quarry and stopped to listen. There was no
sound.

"Hiding," grunted Pinto. And then aloud: "Come out of it. I see you and
I'll shoot you like a dog if you don't come to me!"

There was no reply. He dashed in the direction he thought Jack o'
Judgment must have taken and again missed. With a curse he turned off in
another direction and then suddenly glimpsed a shape before him and
leapt at it. He was flung back with little or no effort, and stood
bewildered, for the coat his hand had touched was rough and he had felt
metal buttons.

"A soldier!" he gasped. "Who are you?"

"Steady," said the other; "don't get rattled, Pinto."

"Who are you?" asked Pinto again.

"My name is Stafford King," said the soldier, "and I think I shall want
you."

Pinto half turned to go, but was gripped.

"You can go back to Huddersfield and pack your boxes," said Stafford
King. "You won't leave the town except by my permission."

"What do you mean?" demanded Pinto, breathing heavily.

"I mean," said Stafford King, "that the unfortunate man you tried to
blackmail must prosecute whatever be the consequence to himself. Now,
Pinto, you've a grand chance of turning King's evidence."

Pinto made no reply. He was collecting his thoughts. Then, after a
while, he said:

"I'll talk about that later, King. I'm staying at the Huddersfield Arms.
I'll meet you there in an hour."

Stafford King did not move until the sound of Pinto's footsteps had died
away. Then he began a systematic search, for he too was anxious to end
the mystery of Jack o' Judgment. He had followed Pinto when he dashed
from the room and had heard the Portuguese calling upon Jack o' Judgment
to surrender. That mysterious individual, who was obviously lying low,
could not be very far away.

He was in a shrubbery which proved later to be a clump of rhododendrons,
in the centre of which wa