a little further, he might be able to pick up something
that would be of advantage to him on his wanderings. His eyes and his
thoughts were directed towards the handsome house which he could see
beyond the trees of the old garden.

The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on the
mansard roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the long wing which
stretched out towards the garden glistened in the moonbeams, and the
light coloured wall of the house made a bright background for the dark
mask of trees waving gently in the night breeze. Knoll's little shed was
sufficiently raised on its hillock for him to have a good view of the
garden. There was no door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring
property clearly from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there
watching, he saw a woman walking through the garden. He could see her
only when she passed back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes.
As far as he could see, she came from the main building and was walking
towards a pretty little house which lay in the centre of the garden.
Knoll had imagined this house to be the gardener's dwelling and as it
lay quite dark he supposed the inmates were either asleep or out for the
evening. It had been this house which he was intending to honour by a
visit. But seeing the woman walking towards it, he decided it would not
be safe to carry out his plan just yet awhile.

A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had been a
wise one, for he saw a man come from the main building and walk along
the path the woman had taken. "No, nothing doing there," thought Knoll,
and concluded he had better go to sleep. He could not remember just how
long he may have dozed but it seemed to him that during that time he
had heard a shot. It did not interest him much. He supposed some one
was shooting at a thieving cat or at some small night animal. He did
not even remember whether he had been really sound asleep, before he was
aroused by the breaking down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of
it more than the shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang tip in
alarm and listened intently to hear whether any one had been attracted
by it. His first glance was towards the building behind the garden.
There was no sound nor no light in the garden house but there was a
light in the main building. While the tramp was wondering what hour it
might be, the church clock answered him by ten loud strokes.

His h