ght let me look at the stud, though."

After a little pressing the girls fetched the trinket, and I perceived
that it very closely resembled the stud Winter had worn on the night of
our first encounter with the Pirate. I said nothing about this
supposition to the maids, but bidding them to be careful not to mention
the matter to any one until they had seen Forrest, whom I promised
should call upon them, I left the house.

Though disappointed in my original intention of forcing an explanation
from Mannering, I was by no means ill pleased with the result of my
visit to his house. My suspicions as to his identity with the Pirate had
become considerably stronger, and once that identity was established I
fancied I should have little difficulty in preventing any further
annoyance at his hands.

Yet when I came to think calmly upon the subject I could not fail to see
how frail was the foundation upon which my suspicions were built up. The
fancies of a girl, the suspicions of a couple of gossiping servants, and
the discovery of a stud, which might or might not prove to be the one
which had been stolen from Winter. I longed for Forrest to return, for I
felt utterly incapable of resting, and as he had not put in an
appearance by midnight, I got out my car and went into St. Albans to
meet him. At the police station there was no news of him to be obtained,
but I did learn that the Pirate had been seen, his presence having been
reported from the vicinity of Bedford.

Knowing that it would be impossible for me to sleep until I had seen
Forrest; knowing, too, how unlikely it was that he would now return to
St. Albans before morning, I thought I might at least have one shot on
my own account of bringing off the capture I so ardently desired. So, in
case of an untoward accident happening, I scribbled a note to the
detective, telling him briefly what I had heard from the servants, and
my intentions; and making sure that my revolver was in working order, I
bade my friends at the police-station good night, and departed.

I knew it would be useless to take the direct road to Bedford if I
wished to meet the Pirate, and, as he had been reported going east, I
took the route through Hertford, trusting that I might be able to cut
him off upon his return. I gleaned nothing concerning him at either
Hertford or Ware, and was so doubtful of proceeding further in that
direction that I left it to the arbitrament of a coin to determine
whether I s