The Colonel could not stand this.  He was so closely implicated with Mrs Trevelyan at the present moment that he could not omit to notice an address so made to him.  ‘What the devil is that to you, sir?’ said he, jumping up and confronting Bozzle in his wrath.

But policemen have always this advantage in their difficulties, that they know to a fraction what the wrath of men is worth, and what it can do.  Sometimes it can dismiss a policeman, and sometimes break his head.  Sometimes it can give him a long and troublesome job, and sometimes it may be wrath to the death.  But in nineteen out of twenty cases it is not a fearful thing, and the policeman knows well when he need not fear it.  On the present occasion Bozzle was not at all afraid of Colonel Osborne’s wrath.

’Well, sir, not much, indeed, if you come to that.  ’Only you was there, sir.’

‘Of course I was there,’ said the Colonel.

‘And a very nice young gentleman is Mr Stanbury,’ said Bozzle.

To this Colonel Osborne made no reply, but again had resort to his newspaper in the most formal manner.

‘He’s a going down to his family, no doubt,’ continued Bozzle.

‘He may be going to the devil for what I know,’ said the Colonel, who could not restrain himself.

‘I suppose they’re all friends of Mrs T.’s?’ asked Bozzle.

‘Sir,’ said the Colonel, ‘I believe that you’re a spy.’

’No, Colonel, no; no, no; I’m no spy.  I wouldn’t demean myself to be such.  A spy is a man as has no profession, and nothing to justify his looking into things.  Things must be looked into, Colonel; or how’s a man to know where he is? or how’s a lady to know where she is?  But as for spies, except in the way of evidence, I don’t think nothing of ‘em.’  Soon after this, two more passengers entered the train, and nothing more was said between Bozzle and the Colonel.

The Colonel, as soon as he reached London, went home to his lodgings, and then to his club, and did his best to enjoy himself.  On the following Monday he intended to start for Scotland.  But he could not quite enjoy himself because of Bozzle.  He felt that he was being watched; and there is nothing that any man hates so much as that, especially when a lady is concerned.  Colonel Osborne knew that his visit to Nuncombe Putney had been very innocent; but he did not like the feeling that even his innocence had been made the subject of observation.

Bozzle went away at once to Trevelyan, whom he found at his chambers.  He himself had had no very deep-laid scheme in his addresses to Colonel Osborne.  He had begun to think that very little would come of the affair especially after Hugh Stanbury had appeared upon the scene and had felt that there was nothing to be lost by presenting himself before the eyes of the Colonel.  It was necessary that he should make a report to his employer, and the report might be made a little more full after a few words with the man whom he had been ‘looking into.’  ’Well, Mr Trewillian,’ he said, seating himself on a chair close against the wall, and holding his hat between the knees ’I’ve seen the parties, and know pretty much all about it.’