Colonel Thorndyke's Secret

ing Mark went

ifference to us. Here is a highwayman who has been wounded, and would certainly be a valuable capture: I will set my men to work at once; if he is in London they w

Bull, in

et you know as soon as we get a

f that time he received a note from Bow Street s

all now circulate notices of the reward throughout the country. If the man was at all severely hit, we may assume that he must be somewhere in the neighborhood of London, whereas, if the wound was a slight one, he might be abl

although no news had been obtained that would lead to the man's immediate arrest, news had at any rate been obtained showing that he

e south coaches several months ago. The gentleman was at once taken into a private office, and questioned as to how he had obtained the note. The account that he gave was that he was a surgeon in practice at Southampton. A gentleman had arrived there on a date which we found to be the day after that on which you were stopped; he was well dressed, and had the air of a gentleman; he had come down by coach, and was evidently very ill. He told the surgeon that he had been engaged in a duel, that the pistols had been discharged simultaneously, and that he had

eft, as his conversation did not please him from its cynical tone. The Bank sent to us directly the man presented the note, which he stated had been given to him in part payment for his medical services and the board and lodging of the patient; the total amount had been 75 pounds, and the balance was paid in g

that the coach passed on its way to Southampton. Of course we obtained a minute description from the surgeon of the man's appearance. We found that the people at the coach office had no

ere only three inside passengers besides himself, and he had to be assisted into the coach. The way bill, on being turned up, showed that an inside passenger had been taken up at Kingston. I have already sent down men to make inqu

ieve I told you, he has a strong suspicion that the fellow is the man who was transporte

The surgeon took him to be nearly thirty; but after what he has gone through he may well look three or four years older than he is. He had li

to him. I should say that it is certainly Bastow, and my fathe

of being Arthur Bastow, transported for connivance with highwaymen; was leader

n the southern suburbs. We must get hold of him if we can, and once we do so there will be an end of his travels, for the mutiny in prison and

hat the fellow who was shot was one of the men

must not be too sanguine about our catching the man in a short time: he is evidently a clever fellow, and I think it likely that once he got back he lost no time in getting away from this part of the country, and we are more likely to f

Mark told his fathe

ome trouble yet, if I am not mistaken. At any rate, I will have a talk with the Reigate constable, and tell him that there is very little doubt that the man who attacked us was Arthur Bastow, who has, as we have heard, escaped from Botany Bay, and that he had best tell his men to keep a sharp lookout for him,

ness," Millicent said at dinner. "I am sure that it is wo

lder I shall resign, and let him take my place on the bench. I own, though, that I should be glad if these highway robberies could be suppressed. Poaching and the ordinary offenses of drunkenness and assaults are disposed of without any trouble; but this stopping of the coaches, accompanied occasionally by the shooting of

nstabulary," said Mark. "There are at least a dozen fellows I know who would, like myself,

tire of it. A few wet nights or winter's cold, and you would cease to see the fun of it, especially as you may be sure that the ne

ir; but I think that a fe

of them would be away. I don't say that you personally might not for some considerable time persist in patrolling the roads, for you have a sort of personal

amed that his son was again in England, still less that he was suspected of being one of the men who had endeavored to stop the Squire and his son on their drive from London. Suddenly there was the crack of a

. The latter was but some sixty yards away when he leaped a hedge into a narrow lane. Mark followed without hesitation, but as he leaped into the road he heard a jeering laugh and the sharp

d into a narrow lane where he had left his horse, and rode off before I could get up to him. I n

en it is nearly dark. The bullet passed between myself a

is shameful that people cannot sit in their own room without the risk of bei

ides, Mark says that the fellow had a horse waiting for him, and none of our poachers would be likely to be the owner of a horse. It may be that the highwayman Mark shot at and wounded has come down to give us a fright. It is n

later, as they were seated together in front of the fire, while the Squire was reading the Gazette at the ta

he really meant t

if I had shot him," said Mark. "However, I will make it my business to hunt the fellow down. After this evening's affair, we shall never feel comfortable until he is caught

Millicent, in a low voice; "you hav

ing out for him. But there seems no guarding against attacks like this; I mean to hunt him down

went up to bed

, and have a talk over this business." He touched the

hib, ver

mber one bin of port ther

ll surprise you a good deal. I had not intended to tell you for another four years-that is to say, not until Millicent came of age-but after that affair tonight, I

least doubt abou

and though I effected his capture eight years ago I don't suppose he cares which of us he killed. However, the point is not what he aimed at, but whether it was he, and t

the conversation that he had had with him. Several times in the early portion

ess!" exclaimed Mark, when he heard the r

the utmost, but it was his dying prayer, and I could not refuse it. My solicitor knows the facts of the matter, and so does Mrs. Cunningham, who brought Millicent over from India w

able pile. Then I always made a point of carrying about with me two or three hundred pounds, and after the sacking of some of the palaces I could pick up jewels and things from the troops for a trifle, being able to pay money down. Even without the rents here, I have some 50,000 pounds in money. I should thi

here, were they ten times the value they are. I know that my clothes, my drawers, and everything belonging to me have been gone through at night a score of times. Nothing has been stolen, but, being a methodical man, I could generally see some displacement in the things that told me they had been disturbe

mes of age. Don't let him keep those diamonds an hour in his possession; let him pass them away privately to some man in whom he has implicit confidence, for him to take them to a jeweler's; let him

s convinced that not only was he watched, but that he owed his life simply to the fact that the fellows did not

told me that he would tell me the secret before he died; but death came so suddenly that he never had an opportunity of doing so. He made a tremendous effort in his last moment, but failed, and I shall never forget the anguish his face expressed when he

the cabinet at a sale, and found the spring of the secret drawer quite accidentally. I shall put the things back tonight, and you will know where to look for them. You press against the bottom and up against the

are thes

by which we are to

there was a draught somewhere; either Ramoo did not shut the door when he went out or it has come open again. It has done that once or

is something to be given to whoever is in charge of the tre

presents itself, you whisper in his ear 'Masulipatam,' he replies 'Madras,' or 'Calcutta,' or something of that sort, you take out the coin and s

lau

treasure. But who that guardian may be or how he is to be found is a mystery. I myself have never tried to solve it. There was nothing whatever to go upon. The things may be in England or, it may be, anywhere in India. To me it looked an absolutely hopeless business to set about. I did not see

n her some instructions concerning it. Of course he intended to give me full particulars, but he could hardly have avoided seeing that, in the event of my death, perhaps suddenly before the time came for seeking the treasure, the secret would be lost altogether. Whether he has told her or his lawyer or not I cannot say, but

ogether to see that the agent did his duty, and that at least a couple of hundred a year ought to be expended in necessary repairs, I had a right to at least that sum to carry out the work that ought to be done from year to year. In addition to that sum I laid out about 1000 pounds a year for the fi

r 800 pounds a year. Of course the income was absolutely left to me during the time I remained ostensible owner, but I had no wish to make money out of a trust that I assumed greatly against my will. That money is Millicent's; of course the house had to be kept up in proper style whether I were here or not. Had she at once come into possession, there must have been horses, and carriages, and so on. I don't say that I have not had all the expenses of our livin

get a cadetship in the Company's service. I have no doubt that I should have enjoyed life either way quite as much or possibly more than if I had gone on a good many years as heir to these estates, and afterwards as Squire. Of course, now I shall make it my business to see if it is possible to obtain

s are still on the watch to obtain that bracelet, you must use extraordinary precautions when you get it into your hands; he advised me to take it across to Amsterdam, and either get

England; had they been in India, you would have had them some

e deposit them in a bank to be forwarded with other treasure to England, or that I should get them packed away in the treasure safe in the ship I came back by, and that I should not really have them on my person till I landed in England

w it up, and leaped into the garden, and there stood listening for two or three minu

light out, father or we

ear anythi

when I pulled the curtains aside the window was not shut by three or four inches. I will have a

o with yo

shrubbery and give them a chance of getting first shot. I shall hide up somewhere and

d himself by the fire. It was three quarters of an hour befor

ust have been

sort; and of course, the window being partly open, even though only three or four inches, any little noise would come in more plainly than it otherwise would do. How

't mean to deny that whether there was a window open or not a burglar who wanted to get into the house could do so, still there is no use in making their work more easy for them. I know, as a rule, we are careless about such things; there has not been

a panel to give them room to put an arm through and draw back a bolt, and the thing is done. I know that all the silver is locked up every night in the safe, for Ramoo sees to that, and I have never known him neglect anything under his charge. Well, Mark, I don't know that i

ean to lose a day before I try to get