uttered the inspector in astonishment.

"I hope to know on the 23rd," said Malcolm Sage dryly, as he rose
and walked towards the door. Directness was his strong point. Taking
the hint, Inspector Wensdale rose also and, with the air of a man
not yet quite awake, passed out of the room.

"You had better see him to-morrow, Thompson," said Malcolm Sage,
"and explain exactly how the men are to be disposed. Make it clear
that none must show themselves. If they actually see anyone in the
act, they must track him, not try to take him."

Thompson nodded his head comprehendingly.

"Make it clear that they are there to watch; but I doubt if they'll
see anything," he added.

II

At eleven o'clock on the night of July the 23rd, two motor lorries
glided slowly along some three miles distant from one another. From
their interiors silent forms dropped noiselessly on to the moon-white
road. A moment later, slipping into the shadow of the hedge, they
disappeared. All the previous night men had watched and waited; but
nothing had happened. Now they were to try again.

Overhead the moon was climbing the sky, struggling against masses of
cloud that from time to time swung themselves across her disc.

In the village of Hempdon all was quiet. The last light had been
extinguished, the last dog had sent forth a final challenging bark,
hoping that some neighbouring rival would answer and justify a
volume of canine protest.

On the western side of the highway, and well behind the houses, two
figures were standing in the shadow cast by a large oak. Their faces
and hands were blackened, rendering them indistinguishable from
their surroundings.

One wore a shade over a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles, a precaution
against the moonlight being reflected on the lenses.

Half an hour, an hour, an hour and a half passed. They waited.
Presently one gripped the arm of the other and pointed. At the back
of the house immediately-opposite there was a slight movement in the
shade cast by a hedge. Then the line readjusted itself and the
shadow vanished. A moment later it reappeared in a patch of
moonlight, looking like a large dog.

Stooping low Malcolm Sage and Thompson followed the dog-like form,
themselves taking advantage of every patch of shadow and cover that
offered.

The mysterious form moved along deliberately and without haste, now
disappearing in the shadow cast by some tree or bush, now
reappearing once more on the other sid