ll, when he was living under Sir Horace Fewbanks's
protection? All that Hill had to do when Birchill tried to induce him,
by threats of exposure of his past, to help in a burglary at his master's
house, was to threaten to tell everything to Sir Horace. Birchill told
Hill that he was frightened of Sir Horace Fewbanks, the judge who had
sentenced him.

"Then Birchill's confidence in Hill is remarkable, any way you look at
it. He sends for Hill, whom he had known in gaol, and whom he hadn't seen
since, to confide in him that it is his intention to burgle his
employer's house. He rashly assumes that Hill will do all that he wishes,
and he proceeds to lay his cards on the table. But even supposing that
Birchill was foolish enough to do this--to trust a chance gaol
acquaintance so implicitly--there is a far more puzzling action on his
part. Why did he want Hill's assistance to burgle a practically
unprotected house? I confess I have great difficulty in understanding why
such an accomplished flash burglar as Birchill, one of the best men at
the game in London at the present time, should want the assistance of an
amateur like Hill in such a simple job."

Rolfe looked startled.

"Hill says he wanted a plan of the house and to know what valuables it
contained."

Crewe smiled.

"And has it been your experience among criminals, Rolfe, that a burglar
must have a plan of the place he intends to burgle, and that to get this
plan he will give himself away to any man who can supply it? A plan has
its uses, but it is indispensable only when a very difficult job is being
undertaken, such as breaking through a wall or a ceiling to get at a room
which contains a safe. This job was as simple as A B C. And besides, as
far as I can make out, Birchill knew--the girl Fanning must have
known--that Sir Horace would be going away some time in August and that
the house would be empty. Did he want a plan of an empty house? He would
be free to roam all over it when he had forced a window."

"He wanted to know what valuables were there," said Rolfe.

"And therefore took Hill into his confidence. If Hill had told his
master--even Birchill would realise the risk of that--there would be no
valuables to get. Next, we come to Sir Horace Fewbanks's unexpected
return. According to Hill's story, he made some tentative efforts to
commence a confession as soon as he saw his employer, but Sir Horace was
upset about something and was too impatient to liste