ected quarter had
broken down Leslie's last guard, and he had placed himself unreservedly
in Nugent's hands. Quite early in the day he had left his lodgings, and
had sought temporary refuge at The Hut, entering the grounds with due
precautions by the secluded garden door from the moor, there to remain
till nightfall, when his host would see to it that he was smuggled on
board the _Cobra_. Nugent had stayed in and about the house till late in
the afternoon, when he had started out in his motor car, informing
Chermside, however, that he would not be long away, and enjoining upon
him the advisability of not on any account leaving the library.

In the meanwhile Sinnett, the noiseless butler, who alone of the indoor
servants was aware of his presence in the house, was to be depended on
to preserve the secret; while outside watch and ward would be kept by a
trustworthy man who had come down from London to help in the
emergency--an old hanger-on, as Nugent described him, by the name of
Bill Tuke. Several times during the day Leslie had noticed from the
window this individual prowling about the grounds and coming in and out
of the door on to the moor. It was not for him to know that Tuke, with
whose raffish appearance he was not favourably impressed, had been
dubbed by Enid "The Bootlace Man."

And now, at something after seven o'clock, he saw this unprepossessing
ally approach the window at which he stood brooding. The coarse features
wore a look of cunning satisfaction as he came and drummed on the pane,
requesting admission. Mastering his repulsion, Leslie undid the catch
and opened to him, reflecting that as he was supposed to be benefiting
by the man's services, it would be unfair to show antipathy.

"Is the boss, Mr. Nugent, back?" Tuke asked, as he stepped over the
threshold of the French window into the comfortable apartment.

Leslie was beginning to reply in the negative, when the whirr of a car
was heard on the other side of the house, where the approach from the
road led to the front door.

"I expect that will be him," he said, as the sound ceased; and a minute
later Nugent entered the room, brushing the dust from his coat. He was
fresh from his interview with Violet Maynard in the rose-garden at the
Manor House. He started at sight of his unsavoury henchman.

"Anything wrong?" he demanded of him.

"I ain't seen any cops, if that's what you mean," replied Tuke with a
slight wink that called a quick scowl to hi