“Why！Whatonearth？It’sSOAP！No！——youscoundrel。Don’tyoumovethathand。“
“It’ssoap，“saidMr。Ledbetter。“Fromyourwashstand。Nodoubtit——“
“Don’ttalk，“saidthestoutman。“Iseeit’ssoap。Ofallincrediblethings。“
“IfImightexplain——“
“Don’texplain。It’ssuretobealie，andthere’snotimeforexplanations。WhatwasIgoingtoaskyou？Ah！Haveyouanymates？“
“Inafewminutes，ifyou——“
“Haveyouanymates？Curseyou。IfyoustartanysoapypalaverI’llshoot。Haveyouanymates？“
“No，“saidMr。Ledbetter。
“Isupposeit’salie，“saidthestoutman。“Butyou’llpayforitifitis。Whythedeucedidn’tyoufloormewhenIcameupstairs？
Youwon’tgetachancetonow，anyhow。Fancygettingunderthebed！
Ireckonit’safaircop，anyhow，sofarasyouareconcerned。“
“Idon’tseehowIcouldproveanalibi，“remarkedMr。Ledbetter，tryingtoshowbyhisconversationthathewasaneducatedman。
Therewasapause。Mr。Ledbetterperceivedthatonachairbesidehiscaptorwasalargeblackbagonaheapofcrumpledpapers，andthatthereweretornandburntpapersonthetable。Andinfrontofthese，andarrangedmethodicallyalongtheedgewererowsandrowsoflittleyellowrouleaux——ahundredtimesmoregoldthanMr。
Ledbetterhadseeninallhislifebefore。Thelightoftwocandles，insilvercandlesticks，felluponthese。Thepausecontinued。“Itisratherfatiguingholdingupmyhandslikethis，“saidMr。Ledbetter，withadeprecatorysmile。
“That’sallright，“saidthefatman。“ButwhattodowithyouIdon’texactlyknow。“
“Iknowmypositionisambiguous。“
“Lord！“saidthefatman，“ambiguous！Andgoesaboutwithhisownsoap，andwearsathunderinggreatclericalcollar。YouAREabloomingburglar，youare——ifevertherewasone！“
“Tobestrictlyaccurate，“saidMr。Ledbetter，andsuddenlyhisglassesslippedoffandclatteredagainsthisvestbuttons。
Thefatmanchangedcountenance，aflashofsavageresolutioncrossedhisface，andsomethingintherevolverclicked。Heputhisotherhandtotheweapon。AndthenhelookedatMr。Ledbetter，andhiseyewentdowntothedroppedpince-nez。
“Full-cocknow，anyhow，“saidthefatman，afterapause，andhisbreathseemedtocatch。“ButI’lltellyou，you’veneverbeensoneardeathbefore。Lord！I’Malmostglad。Ifithadn’tbeenthattherevolverwasn’tcockedyou’dbelyingdeadtherenow。“
Mr。Ledbettersaidnothing，buthefeltthattheroomwasswaying。
“Amissisasgoodasamile。It’sluckyforbothofusitwasn’t。
Lord！“Heblewnoisily。“There’snoneedforyoutogopale-greenforalittlethinglikethat。“
“IfIcanassureyou，sir——“saidMr。Ledbetter，withaneffort。
“There’sonlyonethingtodo。IfIcallinthepolice，I’mbust——
alittlegameI’vegotonisbust。Thatwon’tdo。IfItieyouupandleaveyouagain，thethingmaybeoutto-morrow。Tomorrow’sSunday，andMonday’sBankHoliday——I’vecountedonthreecleardays。Shootingyou’smurder——andhanging；andbesides，itwillbustthewholebloomingkernooze。I’mhangedifIcanthinkwhattodo——
I’mhangedifIcan。“
“Willyoupermitme——“
“Yougasasmuchasifyouwerearealparson，I’mblessedifyoudon’t。Ofalltheburglarsyouarethe——Well！No！——IWON’Tpermityou。Thereisn’ttime。Ifyoustartoffjawingagain，I’llshootrightinyourstomach。See？ButIknownow-Iknownow！Whatwe’regoingtodofirst，myman，isanexaminationforconcealedarms——
anexaminationforconcealedarms。Andlookhere！WhenItellyoutodoathing，don’tstartoffatagabble——doitbrisk。“
Andwithmanyelaborateprecautions，andalwayspointingthepistolatMr。Ledbetter’shead，thestoutmanstoodhimupandsearchedhimforweapons。“Why，youAREaburglar！“hesaid“You’reaperfectamateur。Youhaven’tevenapistol-pocketinthebackofyourbreeches。No，youdon’t！Shutup，now。“
Sosoonastheissuewasdecided，thestoutmanmadeMr。Ledbettertakeoffhiscoatandrolluphisshirt-sleeves，and，withtherevolveratoneear，proceedwiththepackinghisappearancehadinterrupted。
Fromthestoutman’spointofviewthatwasevidentlytheonlypossiblearrangement，forifhehadpacked，hewouldhavehadtoputdowntherevolver。SothateventhegoldonthetablewashandledbyMr。Ledbetter。Thisnocturnalpackingwaspeculiar。
Thestoutman’sideawasevidentlytodistributetheweightofthegoldasunostentatiouslyaspossiblethroughhisluggage。Itwasbynomeansaninconsiderableweight。Therewas，Mr。Ledbettersays，altogethernearlyL18，000ingoldintheblackbagandonthetable。
TherewerealsomanylittlerollsofL5bank-notes。EachrouleauofL25waswrappedbyMr。Ledbetterinpaper。Theserouleauxwerethenputneatlyincigarboxesanddistributedbetweenatravellingtrunk，aGladstonebag，andahatbox。AboutL600wentinatobaccotininadressing-bag。L10ingoldandanumberofL5notesthestoutmanpocketed。OccasionallyheobjurgatedMr。Ledbetter’sclumsiness，andurgedhimtohurry，andseveraltimesheappealedtoMr。
Ledbetter’swatchforinformation。
Mr。Ledbetterstrappedthetrunkandbag，andreturnedthestoutmanthekeys。Itwasthentenminutestotwelve，anduntilthestrokeofmidnightthestoutmanmadehimsitontheGladstonebag，whilehesatatareasonablysafedistanceonthetrunkandheldtherevolverhandyandwaited。Heappearedtobenowinalessaggressivemood，andhavingwatchedMr。Ledbetterforsometime，heofferedafewremarks。
“FromyouraccentIjudgeyouareamanofsomeeducation，“hesaid，lightingacigar。“No——DON’Tbeginthatexplanationofyours。Iknowitwillbelong-windedfromyourface，andIammuchtoooldaliartobeinterestedinothermen’slying。Youare，Isay，apersonofeducation。Youdowelltodressasacurate。Evenamongeducatedpeopleyoumightpassasacurate。“
“IAMacurate，“saidMr。Ledbetter，“or，atleast——“
“Youaretryingtobe。Iknow。Butyoudidn’toughttoburgle。
Youarenotthemantoburgle。Youare，ifImaysayit——thethingwillhavebeenpointedouttoyoubefore——acoward。“
“Doyouknow，“saidMr。Ledbetter，tryingtogetafinalopening，“itwasthatveryquestion——“
Thestoutmanwavedhimintosilence。
“Youwasteyoureducationinburglary。Youshoulddooneoftwothings。Eitheryoushouldforgeoryoushouldembezzle。Formyownpart，Iembezzle。Yes；Iembezzle。Whatdoyouthinkamancouldbedoingwithallthisgoldbutthat？Ah！Listen！Midnight！……
Ten。Eleven。Twelve。Thereissomethingveryimpressivetomeinthatslowbeatingofthehours。Time——space；whatmysteriestheyare！Whatmysteries……It’stimeforustobemoving。
Standup！“
Andthenkindly，butfirmly，heinducedMr。Ledbettertoslingthedressingbagoverhisbackbyastringacrosshischest，toshoulderthetrunk，and，overrulingagaspingprotest，totaketheGladstonebaginhisdisengagedhand。Soencumbered，Mr。Ledbetterstruggledperilouslydownstairs。Thestoutgentlemanfollowedwithanovercoat，thehatbox，andtherevolver，makingderogatoryremarksaboutMr。
Ledbetter’sstrength，andassistinghimattheturningsofthestairs。
“Thebackdoor，“hedirected，andMr。Ledbetterstaggeredthroughaconservatory，leavingawakeofsmashedflower-potsbehindhim。
“Nevermindthecrockery，“saidthestoutman；“it’sgoodfortrade。
Wewaithereuntilaquarterpast。Youcanputthosethingsdown。Youhave！“
Mr。Ledbettercollapsedpantingonthetrunk。“Lastnight，“hegasped，“Iwasasleepinmylittleroom，andInomoredreamt——“
“There’snoneedforyoutoincriminateyourself，“saidthestoutgentleman，lookingatthelockoftherevolver。Hebegantohum。
Mr。Ledbettermadetospeak，andthoughtbetterofit。
Therepresentlycamethesoundofabell，andMr。Ledbetterwastakentothebackdoorandinstructedtoopenit。Afair-hairedmaninyachtingcostumeentered。AtthesightofMr。Ledbetterhestartedviolentlyandclappedhishandbehindhim。Thenhesawthestoutman。“Bingham！“hecried，“who’sthis？“
“Onlyalittlephilanthropicdoofmine——burglarI’mtryingtoreform。
Caughthimundermybedjustnow。He’sallright。He’safrightfulass。He’llbeusefultocarrysomeofourthings。“
ThenewcomerseemedinclinedtoresentMr。Ledbetter’spresenceatfirst，butthestoutmanreassuredhim。
“He’squitealone。There’snotagangintheworldwouldownhim。
