“Acting upon the detective’s instructions, there were several men in plain clothes ready to his call in the immediate neighbourhood.  Two stood within the shadow of the steps of the Congregational Church at the corner of the mews, others were stationed well within a soft call.

“Hardly, therefore, had the hare turned into the cul-de-sac at the back of Phillimore Terrace than, at a slight sound from Mr. Francis Howard, every egress was barred to him, and he was caught like a rat in a trap.

“As soon as the tramp had advanced some thirty yards or so (the whole length of this part of the mews is about one hundred yards) and was lost in the shadow, Mr. Francis Howard directed four or five of his men to proceed cautiously up the mews, whilst the same number were to form a line all along the front of Phillimore Terrace between the mews and the High Street.

“Remember, the back-garden walls threw long and dense shadows, but the silhouette of the man would be clearly outlined if he made any attempt at climbing over them.  Mr. Howard felt quite sure that the thief was bent on recovering the stolen goods, which, no doubt, he had hidden in the rear of one of the houses.  He would be caught in flagrante delicto, and, with a heavy sentence hovering over him, he would probably be induced to name his accomplice.  Mr. Francis Howard was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“The minutes sped on; absolute silence, in spite of the presence of so many men, reigned in the dark and deserted mews.

“Of course, this night’s adventure was never allowed to get into the papers,” added the man in the corner with his mild smile.  “Had the plan been successful, we should have heard all about it, with a long eulogistic article as to the astuteness of our police; but as it was—­well, the tramp sauntered up the mews—­and—­there he remained for aught Mr. Francis Howard or the other constables could ever explain.  The earth or the shadows swallowed him up.  No one saw him climb one of the garden walls, no one heard him break open a door; he had retreated within the shadow of the garden walls, and was seen or heard of no more.”

“One of the servants in the Phillimore Terrace houses must have belonged to the gang,” said Polly with quick decision.

“Ah, yes! but which?” said the man in the corner, making a beautiful knot in his bit of string.  “I can assure you that the police left not a stone unturned once more to catch sight of that tramp whom they had had in custody for two days, but not a trace of him could they find, nor of the diamonds, from that day to this.”

CHAPTER VI

ALL HE KNEW

“The tramp was missing,” continued the man in the corner, “and Mr. Francis Howard tried to find the missing tramp.  Going round to the front, and seeing the lights at No. 26 still in, he called upon Mr. Shipman.  The jeweller had had a few friends to dinner, and was giving them whiskies-and-sodas before saying good night.  The servants had just finished washing up, and were waiting to go to bed; neither they nor Mr. Shipman nor his guests had seen or heard anything of the suspicious individual.