He reached down and
lifted it to his knees, and again its weight surprised him. 'It will
be locked, no doubt,' said the doctor to himself, as he drew the off
gig-lamp from its socket to light his inspection.

But no: the bag was fastened by an ordinary spring-catch, and, when
he pressed this, fell open easily. He listened for a second or two,
with a glance over his shoulder into the darkness behind. But
nothing could be heard--nothing but the night-call of a curlew
somewhere on the moor, far to his right. Holding the lamp a little
higher in his left, he thrust his right hand into the bag, groped,
and drew out--

First of all, a pistol, and whether loaded or not he deferred
for the moment to examine.

Next, four small but heavy canvas bags, each tied about the neck
with a leathern thong. By the weight and the look, and also by
the sound of them when shaken, they contained money.

Next, a pair of rubber-soled Blucher boots.

Next, a small square case, which he opened and found to contain
a pocket-compass.

Next, a pair of night-glasses.

Next, a neck-comforter of knitted gray worsted

And, lastly, a folded map.

While he made this inventory, Doctor Unonius kept Dapple at a
standstill; for thus only was he secure of hearing the smallest sound
on the road behind. But now he judged it prudent to put another half
a mile at least between him and pursuit, and so, replacing the lamp
and hastily repacking the bag--with all but the pistol, which he kept
handy on the seat beside him, and the map, which he thrust into the
breast of his greatcoat--he urged the old horse into a fresh trot,
nor pulled up again until he came to the glimmering white gate of
Landeweddy Farm.

The courtlege of Landeweddy was hedged with tamarisks, now leafless,
and through these, above the wall's coping, the upper part of the
house loomed an indistinct mass against the indigo-gray night.
No light showed anywhere--as why should the widow Tresize or her maid
Tryphena be awake at such an hour? The doctor would have required
sharp eyes indeed to note, as he drew rein, that the blind of an
upper window at the south-east corner had been drawn aside an inch or
so out of the perpendicular. Had he detected this, indeed, it would
have meant no more than that the widow, awakened from her slumbers by
the sound of wheels, had arisen to satisfy the curiosity natural to
women.

But Doctor Uno