, 1905-11-23
! y Wy y Raffles,
!43zn- 6he Amateur
gN112 Craftsman
y MMWQMaHY ~ By E. w. HoRNUNG

Well" I said, Il don't see the ne
cessity as things are with us, but Of
course I'm your man."
My tone may have been half hearted.
I did my best to make it otherwise,
but 1t was barely Il month since u
Bond street exploit. and we certainly
could have afforded to behave u
selves fer some time to come We had
been getting along so nicely: by his adj
vice | had scrubbed i thing or two;
inspired by Ratiles. l had V e done 81
article on our own jewel robbery. and
for the moment | was quite satisfied
with this sort of adventure. | thought
we ought to know when we We're well
off and could see no point in our run
ming fresh risks before We were
obliged. On the other land. I was an
ious not to show the least disposition
10 break the pledge that l had given q
month ago. But it was not on my
manifest disinclination That Rallies
fastened.
Necessity. my dear Bunny? Does
the w"i.cr only write When the wolf
is at the door? Does the painter paint
for bread alone? Must you and / be
driven to crime Ike Tom of Bow AMI
Dick of Whitechupel? You pain me.
my lear chap. You needn't laugh. be
cause YOU do. Art f3r arts sake is q
vile catchword, but I confess it ap-
pcals to me. In his case NJ motives
are absolutely pure. for | doubt If we
shall ever be able to dispose Of such
peculiar stones. But if l don't have Il
try for ~the"n-after tonight shall
never be able to hold up my bead
again"
His eye twinkled. but it glittercG
too.
I'VE shall have our work cut out"
was all ! said.
And do you suppose I siloU'd be
Keen on it IL we hadn't" cried i;aflies.
My dear fellow, l would rob st. Paul's
cathedral if | could, but | could no
more scoop Il till when the shopwalker
wasn't looking than l could bag the
apples out of an old woman's basket.
Even that little business last month
was n sorlid affair. but it was neces-
sary, and l think its strategy redeem
ed it to some extent. Now. there's
some credit and more sport in going
where they boast they're on their
guard against you. The Bank of Eng
land. for example. is the ideal crib.
but that would need half a dozen of us
with years to give to the job. and
meanwhile Reuben Rosenthall is hig.;
enough game for you and me. We
know he's armed. We know how Billy
Purvis can fight. It'll be no soft thing.
I grant you. But what Of that. my
good Bunny-what of that? A mans
reach must exceed his grasp. dear bos..
or what the dickens is Il heaven for?"
Il would rather we didn't exceed
ours just yet" l answered, laughing.
for his spirit was Irresistible and the
plan was growing upon me despite my
qualms.
Trust me for that" was his reply.
"I'l see you through. After all, I ex-
pect to find that the difficulties are
nearly all on the surface. These fei-
lows both drink like tie devil. and
that should simplify matters consid-
erably. But we shall see, and we must
take u time. There will probably
turn out to be n dozen different ways
in which the thing might be done and
we shall ave to choose between them.
1t will mean watching the house for
mt least IL week in any case. 1t may
mean lots of other things that VIII
t:llie much longer, but give me Il week
and l will tell you more-that's to
say, if you're really on"
"Of course l am" l replied lndig-
nantly, but why should | give you u
week? Why shouldn't we watch the
house together?"
Because two eyes are as good as
four and take up less room. Nevcr
hunt in couples niles you're Obliged.
But don't you look offended. Bunny;
t,cren be plenty for you to do when
Ii time comes; that | promise you.
You shall have your share OF the fun.
never fear. and Il purple diamond all
to yourself-if we're lucky"
On the whole, however, this conver.
sation left me less than luicwarn. and
l still remember the depression which
came upon me when Rafiles was gone.
/ saw the folly of the enterprise to
which / had committed myself-the
sheer, ~gratuitous, unnecessary folly of
it. And the p~aradoXes in which Raf.
ilcs rcveled and the frivolous casuis-
try which was nevertheless half sin
cere and which his mere personality
rendered wholly plausible Mt the mo-
ment OF uttcrance appealed very little
TO me when recalled in cold blood.
admired the spirit of pure mischief in
which lie seemed prepared to risk his
liberty aud his life. but l did not find
it an infections spirit on calm refec-
ton. Yet the thought of withdrawal
was not TO be entertained for IL mo-
ment. On the contrary. / was impa-
tlent of the delay ordained by Rallies.
and perhaps no small part of my Sc
cret d~isaffectlon came OF his calling de-
Termination TO do witbnut mo mill tl,a