Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1904-01-23

impudeDt bit OF bluff. but IT 5 oar onpu
cnance. Even IL IL fails, we shan,Y
De any the worse of than we were.
AS ne spoke he ran forward to mcsn
the advancing constables.
Why are you SO later, he c,u.x
out excitedly. They're gone For
y. 'neih grove on IN trap ten min
u'es ago. along the road there. u
eaten the midnight express from Stol.
oy' wouldn't leave here for fear q
missing you, but | wish you'd come
carrier. The other has gone TO catsk
the last train mp from here. II one "A
you comes with me we can secure h,r.
oil right. Two of us will be epouyN
Tor that job. Hadn't the rest OF Won
better drive after the other fonrS
you'll be six to four. but remembev
They're armed. II you are quick abov4
IL, you'll get 10 Stolby station as soou
as they will. But there's not an IN.
slant TO lose. If they catch that traiu
they'll be in London before Won can
telegraph, and the gamem be up."
1t was, as he said. an 'imDudenr
bluff" but it succeeded. as impudenes
often does.
Tumble in, lads. Sharp as you can
l wouldn't miss 'em for a thousand
pounds" yelled the man in command
OF the constables. You stay with
him, as he suggests, Brown. and Sc
cure the fifth man. Wen get the Other
four right enough. But don't let thu
informer there get out of your sight.
mind. His evidence is too valuable
TO run the risk of losing it,
The holiness of Number Two's r,,se
and the unsuspecting way in which the
police had "tumbled" to it fairly took
my breath away. Before I had got IL
back, the trap containing the six de-
tenders of the peace was tearins
along the Stolby road like fire-en-
CINE.
They'll catch them all right" said
Number Two gleefully to the consta-
bic who had been told off to assist btr,
in the capture of the conspirator WIS,
was supposed to have gone TO Tar
borough station. And now Won ana
I'll make sure of the other man.
We II have the whole six of them safe
ly lodged in stone walls tonight;
Come along-there's no time to lose
Ii one of ems left at large. my nfs
wouldn't be worth moments prr-
chase when they know who's turned In
former. But stop a minute: my bag's
In the she'd and as il contains the,
documents that prove their guilt. the
inspector there won't thank us for,
leaving 1t behind us. III run back
and get it,
Not without me-" said the con-
stable knowingly. My instructions
were not to lose si~ht Of Won. nv
friend and though IFS al square. I've
no doubt I'm bound to obey instruc-
tions."
"Oh. come. by al means" said
Number Two indiGerently.
Yes, | mean to- was the police-
mans answer, as he took his COM
panion's arm.
The words were the last he uttered.
for, as he stopped his head to enter
the shed, Number Six, who was stand
ing in the shadow of the door, struck
him a terrific blow with a brick he
had snatched mp from the floor.
1t crushed in the poor devils skull
as easily as a tap from spoon
brushes the shell of an egg. and he
went down without a cry.
''That'll do" said Number Two.
''You did it quite scientifically, my,
friend. Now, gentlemen, | think we'd
better make ourselves scarce. We
shall not have time to attend to this
lady's funeral service. after all
You're satisfied now, I hope, that II is
this xrhp
a lucky thing for us IL was so. II a
man was going to turn informer he'd
have taken care TO do the thing prop
erly, and to have taken time about 1t.
not have gone in some hysterical mo-
ment to set of BOBBY country bob
bies. She could only have laid infor-
nation just before the meeting, or
they'd have telegraphed to town, and
got the London detectives down. Those
who came were all Marlborough men
And now I'm going to take yoa
all in my confidence. 1t isn't
safe for us to try to get away
from here tonight. That's why
bluffed the hobbies, instead of show
ing fight or making a run for It.
There's no train we could catch now.
anu, CNCu IL We 10 81, INC Sla-
tons will no doubt be watched. And
If we tried to get away on foot. or to
hire trap, we should be traced to q
certainty in an hour or two, and the
whole lot of us just swept up into
dustpan by the broom of the law, as
easily as woman sweeps up the pieces
OF broken china Jug"
You talk about it damned lightly"
said Number Six; but if that's so, the
hangman's moose is as good as round
our necks."
mot at ALL said Number Two.
Trust yourself to me, and you arc
perfectly safe. 1t so happens that I've
lived near Marlborough a long time.
where l am looked upon as a respecta-
BILE, if eccentric, member of society,"
and 1 shall never be suspected of har-
boring criminals or of being one my
self. My house is only a mile or two
away. It's little old-fashioned place.
where ! and my one man-servant-no.
woman shall ever set foot in house Of