and join me after he had executed his
commission. He looked carefully at the priming
of his pistol, stuck it ostentatiously in the
outside breast pocket of his great-coat; and, with
stately steps, marched off with the heavy
money-bag in his hand. I put the whip to
the horse, and trotted merrily forward,
thinking nothing whatever of robbery or
danger, in spite of the monitory conversation
of Tom Ruddle.

Our first customer resided at the outskirts
of the village— a farmer who required a
considerable amount in gold. I pulled up at the
narrow dark entrance of the lane that led up
to his house; and, as my absence couldn't be
for more than a few minutes, I left the gig,
and proceeded up the lane with my golden
treasure. I delivered it into the hands of its
owner; and, manfully resisting all his hospitable
invitations, I took my leave, and walked
rapidly towards the gig. As I drew near, I
perceived in the clear starlight a man mounted
on the step, and groping under the seat. I
ran forward, and the man, alarmed by my
approach, rapidly raised himself from his
stooping position, and, presenting a pistol,
fired it so close to my eyes that the flash blinded
me for a moment; the action was so sudden
and my surprise so great, that for a short time
too I was bewildered, and scarcely knew
whether I was alive or dead.

The old horse never started at the report, and
I rested my hand on the rim of the wheel,
while I endeavoured to recover my scattered
thoughts. The first thing I ascertained was
that the man had disappeared. I then
hurriedly examined under the seat; and, to my
intense relief, perceived the remaining money-
bag still in its place. There was a slit in it,
however, near the top, as if made by a knife—
the robber probably resolving merely to possess
himself of the coin, without the dangerous
accompaniment of the leathern sack, by which
he might have been traced.

"Tell ye what!" said a voice close beside
me, as I concluded my scrutiny; "I don't like
practical jokes like that— firing off pistols to
frighten folks. You'll alarm the whole
village."

"Tom," I said, "now's the time to show
your courage. A man has robbed the gig— or
tried to do it— and has fired at me within a
yard of my face."

Tom grew perceptibly pale at this informaton.
"Was there only one?"

"Only one."

"Then the accomplices are near. What's
to be done? Shall we rouse farmer Malins
and get his men to help?"

"Not for the world," I said, "I would rather
face a dozen shots than have my carelessness
known at the Bank. It would ruin me for
life. Let us count the money in this bag,
quietly deliver it if it be correct, and then
follow the robber's course."

It was only a hundred guinea bag, that
one, but the counting was nervous work.
We found three guineas wanting. We were
luckily able to supply them from our own
pockets (having just received our quarter's
salaries), and I left Tom there, delivered the
bag at its destination very near at hand,
without a word of the robbery, and went
back to him.

"Now! Which way did he go?" said Tom,
resuming a little of his former air, and
clutching his pistol like the chief of a chorus
of banditti in a melodrama.

I told him I had been so confused that I
had not observed which way he had retreated.
Tom was an old hand at poaching— though he
was a clergyman's son, and ought to have
set a better example.

"I have heard a hare stir at a hundred
yards," he said, and laid his ear close to the
frosty ground. "If he's within a quarter of
a mile, I shall hear him move." I lay also
down on the ground. There was silence
for a long time. We heard nothing but our
breathing and the breathing of the horse.

"Hush!" said Tom at last. "He has
come out of hiding. I hear a man's step far
away to the left; bring your pistol, and let
us follow." I took the pistol and found the
flint down on the pan. The man had fired
at me with my own weapon, and no wonder
he had fired so suddenly; for Tom now
acknowledged to his belief that he had forgotten
to uncock it.

"Never mind," said Tom, "I'll blow
his brains out with mine, and you can split
his skull with the butt end of yours. Tell
ye what! It's of no use to spare those
malefactors. I'll fire, the moment I see
him."

"Not till I tell you whether it is the robber
or not."

"Should you know him, do you think?"

"In the flash of the powder I saw a pair
of haggard and amazed eyes which I shall
never forget."

"On, then!" said Tom; "we'll have a three
hundred pound reward, and see the rascal
hanged besides."

We set off, slowly and noiselessly, in the
direction Tom had pointed out. Occasionally
he applied his ear to the ground, and always
muttering "We have him! we have him!"
proceeded in the same careful manner as
before. Suddenly Tom said, "He's doubling.
He has been leading us on the wrong scent
all this time; he has turned towards the
village."

"Then our plan," I said, "should be to get
there before him. If we intercept him in
that way, he can't escape; and I feel sure I
could identify him if I saw him by candle-
light."

"Tell ye what!— that's the plan," replied
my companion. "We'll watch at the entrance
of the village, and arrest him the moment he
comes in."

We crept through an opening of the hedge,
and got once more in the straight lane that