o back and 'phone to the
police--or tell Mr. Rivers?"

"Neither," said Raymonde decidedly. "After that idiotic business on
Wednesday night, trying to guard the larder with everybody tumbling
over everyone else, it's worse than useless to tell. It would be all
over the camp in five minutes, and Mrs. Vernon would hear about it,
and go and warn 'Carl' somehow. As for the police, they'd spend a week
in preliminaries. They'd have to send a constable to look at the
letter, and ask questions of us, and Miss Pearson, and Mr. Rivers, and
no end of red-tape nonsense; and by that time Carl would be safely out
of the country, and on to a neutral vessel. No, my idea is to 'set a
thief to catch a thief'. I'm going to ask the gipsies to help us. If
anybody can deal with the business, they can!"

"Topping!" exclaimed Aveline. "I'd back the gipsies against the best
detectives in England."

"I'll go to the field and talk to that woman who caught Dandy for us
yesterday. Mr. Rivers sent a horse last night, and brought their
caravan to the farm, so they'll all be at work picking this morning.
Don't tell a single soul in the camp. You and I will watch Mrs.
Vernon, and follow her if she goes out, and the gipsies shall keep
guard in the wood where she's evidently arranged to meet him. They'll
get a reward if they catch him."

"That'll spur them on, as well as the sport of the thing!" laughed
Aveline.

The girls were fearfully excited at the idea of such an adventure.
They had never liked Mrs. Vernon, and now saw good ground for their
suspicions. They wondered how much information she had gleaned at the
camp, for Miss Hoyle and Miss Parker were not very discreet in their
communications. They walked at once to the gardens, found their Romany
friend among the strawberries, and with much secrecy told her the
whole affair. As they had expected, she rose magnificently to the
occasion.

"You leave it to us gipsies," she assured them. "Bless you, we're used
to this kind of job. There's a lot of us altogether working here, and
I'll pass the word on. There'll be scouts this evening behind nearly
every hedge, and if any German comes this way we'll get him, I promise
you. You keep your eye on that Mrs. Vernon! We may want a signal.
Look here, lady; come to the back of that shed, and I'll teach you the
gipsies' whistle. Anybody with Romany blood in them's bound to answer
it."

The gipsy's whistle was a peculiar bird-like call, not very easy to
i