“How now?  What has kept you so late?  Is all right?”

“If your honor will take breath a moment between the questions, we will endeavor to answer them,” replied Bill.

“Well, proceed.  Did you do the job?”

“No, not exactly as laid down in the bill, but—­”

“What! did you let him go?”

“Why, no, your honor, we didn’t let him go, for the very good reason that he didn’t give us a chance to show him so much mercy.”

“How?”

“You see the fellow didn’t come himself, but sent a substitute!”

“The deuce, he did!  How’s that?”

“That’s what we can’t tell; we only know, that instead of young Hadley, we came within an ace of killing ’Squire Williams!”

“’Squire Williams!”

“Yes, sir.  He came along at the precise hour that should have brought the other, and it being too dark to distinguish one man from another, or from old Nick for that matter, we fell on to him, and but for the merest chance would have finished him.”

Here the enactment of the early part of the evening was rehearsed in full.

“It is well you got off so easily, and I must give you credit for your ingenuity; but I am exceedingly sorry the bird we were after has escaped.  However, as that cannot be helped or amended just now, we will proceed with the rest of our work.”

“What hour of the night is it?”

“About one o’clock; and that reminds me of the fact that we will not have time to take all the stock to-night; we shall, therefore, confine our operations to a single item—­the taking of Mandeville’s horse.”

“Mandeville’s?”

“Yes; why not?”

“I thought your honor was playing for another stake in that quarter?”

“And if I am?”

“Why, I just thought it was a queer way of gaining the old gentleman’s good will—­that thing of taking his horse.”

“Not so queer as you might think for.”

“Oh!  I remember now; excuse me; this Hadley was to be made the scapegoat; you were to get a horse and have the blame of the theft thrown on a rival, whose non-appearance should condemn him.  I see it all now, though I did not perceive this delicate undercurrent in the plan of affairs.  Lieutenant Duffel against the world, I say!”

“Silence!  Dick, you are familiar with Mr. Mandeville’s premises, I believe?”

“Yes, tolerably so.”

“Well, I want you to bring Tom here in about half an hour; and do the job up nicely, too.”

“I’ll try, sir.”

“You must do it.  Be quick; it is going to rain soon, and we must get him away before the tracks will show; but don’t so much as disturb the sleeping grasshoppers by your noise.”

“All right.”

“Go now, and be here again in the shortest possible time.  Bill and I will arrange matters for future operations while you are gone.”

Dick hastened away to do the bidding of his master, and Duffel communicated to Bill the following piece of intelligence: