第 10 页

catch sight of our faces they would think it suspicious that the

window should be open, and it might put them on their guard."

"Yes; and we may as well turn in at once, John. Like enough when they

get back they will listen for a bit at their door, so as to make sure

that everything is quiet before they turn in. There is nothing more

to see now. Of course they will get in as they got out. You had

better turn in as you are, Cyril; they may listen at your door."

Cyril at once went up to his room, closed the door, placed a chair

against it, and then lay down on his bed. He listened intently, and

four or five minutes later thought that he heard a door open; but he

could not be sure, for just at that moment heavy drops began to

patter down upon the tiles. The noise rose louder and louder until he

could scarce have heard himself speak. Then there was a bright flash

and the deep rumble of the thunder mingled with the sharp rattle of

the raindrops overhead. He listened for a time to the storm, and then

dropped off to sleep.

Things went on as usual at breakfast the next morning. During the

meal, Captain Dave gave the foreman several instructions as to the

morning's work.

"I am going on board the _Royalist_," he said. "John Browning wants

me to overhaul all the gear, and see what will do for another voyage

or two, and what must be new. His skipper asked for new running

rigging all over, but he thinks that there can't be any occasion for

its all being renewed. I don't expect I shall be in till dinner-time,

so anyone that wants to see me must come again in the afternoon."

Ten minutes later, Cyril went out, on his way to his work. Captain

Dave was standing a few doors away.

"Before I go on board the brig, lad, I am going up to the Chief

Constable's to arrange about this business. I want to get four men of

the watch. Of course, it may be some nights before this is tried

again, so I shall have the men stowed away in the kitchen. Then we

must keep watch, and as soon as we see those young villains on the

roof, we will let the men out at the front door. Two will post

themselves this end of the lane, and two go round into Leadenhall

Street and station themselves at the other end. When the boys go out

after supper we will unlock the door at the bottom of the stairs into

the shop, and the door into the warehouse. Then we will steal down

into the shop and listen there until we hear them open the door into

the yard, and then go into the warehouse and be ready to make a rush

out as soon as they get the gate open. John will have his boatswain's

whistle ready, and will give the signal. That will bring the watch

up, so they will be caught in a trap."

"I should think that would be a very good plan, Captain Dave, though

I wish that it could have been done without Tom Frost being taken. He

is a timid sort of boy, and I have no doubt that he has been entirely

under the thumb of Robert."

"Well, if he has he will get off lightly," the Captain said. "Even if

a boy is a timid boy, he knows what will be the consequences if he is

caught robbing his master. Cowardice is no excuse for crime, lad. The

boys have always been well treated, and though I dare say Ashford is

the worst of the two, if the other had been honest he would not have

seen him robbing me without letting me know."

For six nights watch was kept without success. Every evening, when

the family and apprentices had retired to rest, John Wilkes went

quietly downstairs and admitted the four constables, letting them out

in the morning before anyone was astir. Mrs. Dowsett had been taken

into her husband's confidence so far as to know that he had

discovered he had been robbed, and was keeping a watch for the

thieves. She was not told that the apprentices were concerned in the

matter, for Captain Dave felt sure that, however much she might try

to conceal it, Robert Ashford would perceive, by her looks, that

something was wrong.

Nellie was told a day or two later, for, although ignorant of her

father's nightly watchings, she was conscious from his manner, and

that of her mother, that something was amiss, and was so persistent

in her inquiries, that the Captain consented to her mother telling

her that he had a suspicion he was being robbed, and warning her that

it was essential that the subject must not be in any way alluded to.

"Your father is worrying over it a good deal, Nellie, and it is

better that he should not perceive that you are aware of it. Just let

things go on as they were."

"Is the loss serious, mother?"

"Yes; he thinks that a good deal of money has gone. I don't think he

minds that so much as the fact that, so far, he doesn't know who the

people most concerned in it may be. He has some sort of suspicion in

one quarter, but has no clue whatever to the men most to blame."

"Does Cyril know anything about it?" Nellie asked suddenly.

"Yes, he knows, my dear; indeed, it was owing to his cleverness that

your father first came to have suspicions."

"Oh! that explains it," Nellie said. "He had been talking to father,

and I asked what it was about and he would not tell me, and I have

been very angry with him ever since."

"I have noticed that you have been behaving very foolishly," Mrs.

Dowsett said quietly, "and that for the last week you have been

taking Robert with you as an escort when you went out of an evening.

I suppose you did that to annoy Cyril, but I don't think that he

minded much."

"I don't think he did, mother," Nellie agreed, with a laugh which

betrayed a certain amount of irritation. "I saw that he smiled, two

or three evenings back, when I told Robert at supper that I wanted

him to go out with me, and I was rarely angry, I can tell you."

Cyril had indeed troubled himself in no way about Nellie's coolness;

but when she had so pointedly asked Robert to go with her, he had

been amused at the thought of how greatly she would be mortified,

when Robert was haled up to the Guildhall for robbing her father, at

the thought that he had been accompanying her as an escort.

"I rather hope this will be our last watch, Captain Dave," he said,

on the seventh evening.

"Why do you hope so specially to-night, lad?"

"Of course I have been hoping so every night. But I think it is

likely that the men who take the goods come regularly once a week;

for in that case there would be no occasion for them to meet at other

times to arrange on what night they should be in the lane."

"Yes, that is like enough, Cyril; and the hour will probably be the

same, too. John and I will share your watch to-night, so as to be

ready to get the men off without loss of time."

Cyril had always taken the first watch, which was from half-past nine

till twelve. The Captain and Wilkes had taken the other watches by

turns.

As before, just as the bell finished striking eleven, the three

watchers again heard through the slightly open casement the scraping

noise on the left. It had been agreed that they should not move, lest

the sound should be heard outside. Each grasped the stout cudgel he

held in his hand, and gazed at the roof of the warehouse, which could

now be plainly seen, for the moon was half full and the sky was

clear. As before, the two figures went along, and this time they

could clearly recognise them. They were both sitting astride of the

ridge tiles, and moved themselves along by means of their hands. They

waited until they saw one after the other disappear at the end of the

roof, and then John Wilkes quietly stole downstairs. The four

constables had been warned to be specially wakeful.

"They are at it again to-night," John said to them, as he entered.

"Now, do you two who go round into Leadenhall Street start at once,

but don't take your post at the end of the lane for another five or

six minutes. The thieves outside may not have come up at present. As

you go out, leave the door ajar; in five minutes you others should

stand ready. Don't go to the corner, but wait in the doorway below

until you hear the whistle. They will be only fifteen or twenty yards

up the lane, and would see you if you took up your station at the

corner; but the moment you hear the whistle, rush out and have at

them. We shall be there before you will."

John went down with the last two men, entered the shop, and stood

there waiting until he should be joined by his master. The latter and

Cyril remained at the window until they saw the door of the warehouse

open, and then hurried downstairs. Both were in their stockinged

feet, so that their movements should be noiseless.

"Come on, John; they are in the yard," the Captain whispered; and

they entered the warehouse and went noiselessly on, until they stood

at the door. The process of unbarring the gate was nearly

accomplished. As it swung open, John Wilkes put his whistle to his

lips and blew a loud, shrill call, and the three rushed forward.

There was a shout of alarm, a fierce imprecation, and three of the

four figures at the gate sprang at them. Scarce a blow had been

struck when the two constables ran up and joined in the fray. Two men

fought stoutly, but were soon overpowered. Robert Ashford, knife in

hand, had attacked John Wilkes with fury, and would have stabbed him,

as his attention was engaged upon one of the men outside, had not

Cyril brought his cudgel down sharply on his knuckles, when, with a

yell of pain, he dropped the knife and fled up the lane. He had gone

but a short distance, however, when he fell into the hands of the two

constables, who were running towards him. One of them promptly

knocked him down with his cudgel, and then proceeded to bind his

hands behind him, while the other ran on to join in the fray. It was

over before he got there, and his comrades were engaged in binding

the two robbers. Tom Frost had taken no part in the fight. He stood

looking on, paralysed with terror, and when the two men were

overpowered he fell on his knees beseeching his master to have mercy

on him.

"It is too late, Tom," the Captain said. "You have been robbing me

for months, and now you have been caught in the act you will have to

take your share in the punishment. You are a prisoner of the

constables here, and not of mine, and even if I were willing to let

you go, they would have their say in the matter. Still, if you make a

clean breast of what you know about it, I will do all I can to get

you off lightly; and seeing that you are but a boy, and have been,

perhaps, led into this, they will not be disposed to be hard on you.

Pick up that lantern and bring it here, John; let us see what

plunder, they were making off with."

There was no rope this time, but a bag containing some fifty pounds'

weight of brass and copper fittings. One of the constables took

possession of this.

"You had better come along with us to the Bridewell, Master Dowsett,

to sign the charge sheet, though I don't know whether it is

altogether needful, seeing that we have caught them in the act; and

you will all three have to be at the Court to-morrow at ten o'clock."

"I will go with you," the Captain said; "but I will first slip in and

put my shoes on; I brought them down in my hand and shall be ready in

a minute. You may as well lock up this gate again, John. I will go

out through the front door and join them in the lane." As he went

into the house, John Wilkes closed the gate and put up the bar, then

took up the lantern and said to Cyril,--

"Well, Master Cyril, this has been a good night's work, and mighty

thankful I am that we have caught the pirates. It was a good day for

us all when you came to the Captain, or they might have gone on

robbing him till the time came that there was nothing more to rob;

and I should never have held up my head again, for though the Captain

would never believe that I had had a hand in bringing him to ruin,

other people would not have thought so, and I might never have got a

chance of proving my innocence. Now we will just go to the end of the

yard and see if they did manage to get into the warehouse by means of

that crane, as you thought they did."

They found that the crane had been swung out just far enough to

afford a foot-hold to those lowering themselves on to it from the

roof. The door of the loft stood open.

"Just as you said. You could not have been righter, not if you had

seen them at it. And now I reckon we may as well lock up the place

again, and turn in. The Captain has got the key of the front door,

and we will leave the lantern burning at the bottom of the stairs."

Cyril got up as soon as he heard a movement in the house, and went

down to the shop, which had been already opened by John Wilkes.

"It seems quiet here, without the apprentices, John. Is there any way

in which I can help?"

"No, thank you, sir. We shan't be moving the goods about till after

breakfast, and then, no doubt, the Captain will get an extra man in

to help me. I reckon he will have to get a neighbour in to give an

eye to the place while we are all away at the Court."

"I see there is the rope still hanging from their window," Cyril

said, as he went out into the yard.

"I thought it best to leave it there," John Wilkes replied, "and I

ain't been up into the loft either. It is best to leave matters just

as they were. Like enough, they will send an officer down from the

Court to look at them."

When the family assembled at breakfast, Mrs. Dowsett was looking very

grave. The Captain, on the other hand, was in capital spirits.

Nellie, as usual, was somewhat late.

"Where is everybody?" she asked in surprise, seeing that Cyril alone

was in his place with her father and mother.

"John Wilkes is downstairs, looking after the shop, and will come up