, isn't
it?"

Something in the speaker's look and in the tone of his voice caused the
three listeners to experience an unpleasant quickening of their pulses.

"Yes," answered Diggory, with a well-assumed air of indifference.
"I suppose they'll catch the thieves in time."

"I suppose so," returned the other, "especially if they find the chap
who owns that knife with the broken blade."

The malignant look with which these words was accompanied showed at once
that the speaker meant mischief. The three friends looked at one
another in horrified amazement. Could it be possible that their visit
to The Hermitage had already been discovered?

Noaks watched their faces for a moment, evidently well pleased with the
effect which his remark had produced; then he burst out laughing.

"Look here," he continued, producing from his pocket a buck-handled
clasp-knife: "I wonder if that's anything like it; I see the big blade's
broken."

The Triple Alliance recognized it in a moment as one of the articles
that had been rescued from Mugford's sale at The Birches; in fact, the
owner's name appeared plainly engraved on the small brass plate.

Diggory was the first to find his tongue.

"What d'you mean? We didn't steal the coins!"

"My dear fellow, I never said you did. I only know that on Saturday I
was looking over our wall, through an opening there happens to be in the
shrubs, and saw you fellows climbing out of the old chap's window; and
after you'd gone I noticed something lying in the path, and I hopped
over, and picked up this knife."

"Give it here; it's mine," said Mugford, holding out his hand.

"No fear," answered the other, calmly returning the piece of lost
property to his own pocket. "In this case finding's keeping; besides,
I'm not sure if I couldn't get a reward for this if I sent it to the
right place."

The train began to slacken speed as it approached Ronleigh station.

"Look here, Noaks," cried Jack Vance, in a fit of desperation, "what are
you going to do? You know very well we are not thieves."

"I don't know anything of the sort," returned the tormentor, standing up
to take his bag off the rack; "all I know is just what I've told you.
See here, Mr. Vance," he continued, rounding on Jack with a sudden
snarl, "you were good enough some little time ago to make some very
caddish remarks about my father; in the future you'd better keep your
mouth shut. I owe all three of you a dressing down for thing