And there stood Raffles in the silvery mist, laughing
with his whole light heart, leaning back to get the full flavor of his
mirth; and, nearer me, sturdy old Nab, dour and grim, with beads of
dew on the hoary beard that had been lamp-black in our time.

"So I've caught you at last!" said he. "After more years than I mean
to count!"

"Then you're luckier than we are, sir," answered Raffles, "for I fear
our man has given us the slip."

"Your man!" echoed Nab. His bushy eyebrows had shot up: it was as much
as I could do to keep my own in their place.

"We were indulging in the chase ourselves," explained Raffles, "and
one of us has suffered for his zeal, as you can see. It is even
possible that we, too, have been chasing a perfectly innocent man."

"Not to say a reformed character," said our pursuer dryly. "I suppose
you don't mean a member of the school?" he added, pinking his man
suddenly as of yore, with all the old barbed acumen.

But Raffles was now his match.

"That would be carrying reformation rather far, sir. No, as I say, I
may have been mistaken in the first instance; but I had put out my
light and was looking out of the window when I saw a fellow behaving
quite suspiciously. He was carrying his boots and creeping along in
his socks--which must be why you never heard him, sir. They make less
noise than rubber soles even--that is, they must, you know! Well,
Bunny had just left me, so I hauled him out and we both crept down to
play detective. No sign of the fellow! We had a look in the
colonnade--I thought I heard him--and that gave us no end of a hunt
for nothing. But just as we were leaving he came padding past under
our noses, and that's where we took up the chase. Where he'd been in
the meantime I have no idea; very likely he'd done no harm; but it
seemed worth while finding out. He had too good a start, though, and
poor Bunny had too bad a wind."

"You should have gone on and let me rip," said I, climbing to my feet
at last.

"As it is, however, we will all let the other fellow do so," said old
Nab in a genial growl. "And you two had better turn into my house and
have something to keep the morning cold out."

You may imagine with what alacrity we complied; and yet I am bound to
confess that I had never liked Nab at school. I still remember my term
in his form. He had a caustic tongue and a fine assortment of damaging
epithets, most of which were levelled at my devoted skull during those
three mo