on the spot from which they had been
taken. They returned to the house, shut the door, and extinguished the
light.

"That has been a grand find," he said; "even if this is not Bastow, it
will be a valuable capture."

"That it will, Mr. Thorndyke. I have no doubt that this fellow is
the man we have been in search of for the last eighteen months; that
accounts for our difficulty in laying hold of him. He has been too
crafty to try to sell any of his plunder, so that none of the fences
have known anything about him. No doubt he has taken sufficient cash to
enable him to live here quietly. He intended some time or other to melt
down all the rest of the plate and to sell the silver, which he could do
easily enough. As for the watches and jewels, he could get rid of them
abroad."

"No doubt that is what he intended," Mark agreed. "It is not often these
fellows are as prudent as he has been; if they were, your work would be
a good deal more difficult than it is."

"You are right, sir; I don't know that I ever heard of such a case
before. The fellow almost deserves to get away."

"That would be rewarding him too highly for his caution," Mark laughed.
"He is a desperate villain, and all the more dangerous for being a
prudent one. Now, I think one of us had better keep watch at the gate by
turns. We shall hear him coming in plenty of time to get back here and
be in readiness for him. We must each understand our part thoroughly.
I will stand facing the door. It is possible that he may light that
lantern we saw hanging in the stable, but I don't think it likely he
will do so; he will take off the saddle, and either take the horse in
there--there is plenty of food in the manger--or else turn it out into
the paddock. As he comes in I will throw my arms round him and you will
at once close in, one on each side, each catch an arm tightly, handcuff
him, and take the pistols from his belt. Don't leave go of his arms
until I have lit the candle; he may have another pistol inside his coat,
and might draw it."

It was now one o'clock, and half an hour later Malcolm, who was at the
gate, came in quietly and said he could hear a horse coming along the
lane.

"Which way, Malcolm?"

"Tooting way."

"That is all right. I have been a little nervous lest if he came
the other way our horse might make some slight noise and attract his
attention; that was our only weak point."

They had already ascertained that the front door was locke