fast by sopping up the
bacon-fat with a piece of bread, when there reached him the sound of a
motor-car chunking its way along in the distance.

The news of the night's doings had spread rapidly, and a small crowd
was collected round the gates of Holmleigh. Bindle grinned through the
bars, and occasionally threw to the curious neighbours bits of
information.

The car approached and drew up. In it was a tall, spare man of about
thirty-eight or forty, with thin, angular features. He seemed
surprised to see the crowd; but turning the car through the open gates
drove slowly up to the house.

The crowd recognised the stranger as Mr. Richard Miller, the new tenant
of Holmleigh. He nodded to the foreman, who immediately descended from
the tail-board and approached.

"Good-mornin', sir," he said. "You're earlier than wot I 'ad 'oped,
sir; but that's on the lucky side. I been 'avin' rather a lively
night, sir."

At this moment there was a loud and continuous pounding from within the
pantechnicon that he had just left.

"If you're not quiet I'll shoot--God forgive me, but I will," he
shouted over his shoulder. Then turning to Mr. Miller he winked
jocosely. "Gettin' a bit impatient, sir. They 'eard you come, I
s'pose. I've 'ad 'em there for several hours now. Ah! 'ere's the
perlice!"

As he spoke another car appeared round the bend of the drive, and an
inspector in uniform and three plain-clothes men got out.

"Now there's goin' to be some fun," the foreman chuckled to himself as,
addressing Mr. Miller, he told of the happenings of the night before.

When he had finished, the features of Bindle, who had been relieved by
Ginger, were suffused with a grin so broad and good-humoured that it
contrasted strangely with the astonishment written on the faces of the
others.

"That's the story, gentlemen, and there's my bag," jerking his thumb in
the direction of the pantechnicon. "Four of 'em there are, I counted
'em carefully, an' every one a Charles Peace. You'd better be careful
as you let 'em out," he added. "I 'adn't time to search 'em. They
came so quick, like flies in summer."

The inspector breathed hard, Mr. Miller looked grave and concerned, the
plain-clothes men looked blank, Bindle looked cheerful, whilst the
foreman looked as a man looks only once in a lifetime. Deliberately he
approached the tail of the van, undid the lock, removed the bar, threw
open the doors, and stood quietly aside. For ful