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theft of a motor vehicle, pending further investigations revealing any other felonies. Ye'll be held in custody here until

such times as ye appear before a magistrate, have ye anything tae say t'the charges brought against ye?"

Flash whispered to Gripper, " 'E knows our proper names! 'Ow'd'e find that out?"

Gripper ground his teeth together audibly. "Shut... up!"

Sergeant Patterson stared levelly at the four accused. "Ah said, have ye anything tae say t'the charges?"

Gripper glared sullenly back at him. "We wanna lawyer!"

Mr. Mackay looked them up and down with disdain. "I'm a lawyer, the only one in Chapelvale, but I don't deal

in criminal law. Besides, I've quite enough clients at the moment, thank you. So, what are your plans, gentlemen, eh?"

Chaz's nose had stopped bleeding, and he sniffed carefully before blurting out, "The company we work for in

London, Jackman Donnin' an' Bowe,'ll get a lawyer fer us, a real one from London, not some 'ayseed like that feller!"

Gripper groaned, and clenching both fists, he turned on Chaz. "You stoopid, loudmouthed squealer! I'll.. ."

Chaz skipped nimbly out of range, placing himself behind the formidable figure of Will Drummond.

"Keep 'im away from me! It was Gripper who pinched the motorcar, 'e's the on'y one of us wot can drive. I

'aven't done nothin', an' I'm not gonna be left carryin' the can fer miss snotty nose Maud Bowe an' 'er father's firm. No!

Not fer any local bigwig who's in with 'em, either!"

It was at that moment when Constable Judmann pounded on the station door and the old seaman let him in. "I

thought you were comin' to relieve me, Sarge. 'Ello, what've we got 'ere?"

Sergeant Patterson took hold of Chaz firmly. "Ah'll tell ye all about it later, Constable. Lock those three up in

the holding cell, will ye. Ah'll keep this fellow here with me. Ah've got a feeling he wants tae tell me more." The

sergeant relieved Mackay of his stick.

"Thanks for the help, gents. Time yon lads were in bed, though. Does your dad know you're out this late, Alex?"

The younger boy who stood framed by the open window with the blue-eyed boy replied, "It's all right, Sarge.

Me and Amy told him we'd be stopping over with Ben at Miz Winn's tonight."

The sergeant winked at Ben. "Weel, you make sure they get straight off tae bed, and don't stay up late yourself!"

Ben grinned cheekily. "Bed? Not on a night like this. It's gone midnight, d'you realize? Today's Thursday, the

deadline day for Chapelvale. I'm going back to see if Miz Winn and our friends have cracked the riddle!"

The boys ran off, with Will, the shipman, and the lawyer in their wake, calling, "Hi, wait for us!"

43.

WILL'S MA HAD TAKEN LITTLE Willum to bed with her, in Winnie's room on the ground floor. On the sofa

formerly occupied by little Willum, Mr. Braithwaite lay, wrapped in his gown, overcome by slumber. Hetty took the

plaid traveling rug and covered him over with it. "Good old feller, it was him who thought of lightin' the candle. That

got us started." Mackay bobbed his head in a small bow. "But I've no doubt he couldn't have got much further without

the help of you ladies, excellent work all 'round!" Amy, Eileen, and Mrs. Winn were far too excited to contemplate

sleep. They showed the results of their labors to the menfolk, who told them of the capture of the London toughs. The

blue-eyed boy took a look at the writing, then at the old map with the four dots upon it. "It's marked here as East-path,

where's that?"

Eileen blushed in the lamplight. "Oh, 'tis a pretty little lane. Will an' me used to walk there, when we was

a-courtin'." Mr. Mackay knew a bit more about the area. "Ah yes, East-path. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Jon, but

isn't that the old stagecoach way, to the east of the village square?"

Jon confirmed the solicitor's words. "Aye, that's the place," the old shipmate said. "Once the new road was built

from Hadford, for the waggoners to use, the path fell into disrepair. Of course, that'd be nigh on a hundred years back.

Eastpath will be so overgrown we'll have a right old job tryin' to locate a milestone."

Will shook his head. "Oh no we won't, friend. I recall trip-pin' over that stone an' sprainin' my ankle one

evening as I was runnin'."

Amy chuckled. "Were you chasing after Eileen?"

Will's big, jolly wife gave Amy a nudge, almost knocking her over. "No, it were I who was chasin' after Will!"

Mr. Mackay coughed officiously to dispel any more talk of the romantic escapade. "Harrumph! Yes, well, we're

going to need spades, lanterns, and so on. Shall we get started? Our time is short now."

The black Labrador passed a thought to his master, who was sitting stroking him. "Pity the poor girl who ever

tries to chase that dry old stick."

The gig was loaded up, ready to go. Ben stood at the door with Mrs. Winn. The old lady looked very tired, he

hugged her affectionately. "You go back inside and have a nice nap, Miz Winn. Leave this to us. I promise we'll come

back here with anything we find, straightaway!"

She kissed Ben's cheek. "I'll have breakfast ready for you."

The dog was obviously holding a mental conversation with Horatio. As they climbed into the gig, Ben eyed the

Labrador. "What was going on between you two, Ned?"

The black Labrador laid his chin on Ben's lap. "I told him to keep an eye on things while we were gone."

The boy scratched the back of his dog's ear. "I suppose he gave you a lot of nonsense about sardines, butterflies,

and mice. Poor old Horatio, he's got a bit of a one-track mind."

Ned shook his head. "No. Surprisingly, he said he'd watch over the house and if anything happened he'd track us

down and let me know. I think that Horatio's finally come to his senses. Just in time—can't go around with a headful

of sardines and butterflies all his life!"

Delia trotted dutifully through the darkened village, passing the almshouse and heading up the overgrown path.

It became very dim, overshadowed by an archway of overhanging trees. Ben was imagining what it had been like all

those years ago: stagecoaches laden with passengers and mail, carriages bearing merchants and gentry, carts laden

with produce. All of them fearful to be traveling such a lonely and shaded path, where highwaymen and thieves might

lurk. The strange boy glimpsed the crescent moon, struggling to cast its light through the leafy canopy. Unwittingly

his mind wandered back to the Flying Dutchman, Vanderdecken, and his villainous crew—they would probably have

reveled in the highwayman's trade.

Amy bumped against him as the gig lurched to a stop. "Don't go to sleep, Ben, I think we've arrived at the

place!"

Three lanterns had been brought, the seaman lit them and gave one to each of his young friends. "Here y'are,

mates. You're in charge of lightin' and the maps. Stay close to 'em, Mr. Mackay. Me an' Will can do the digging.

Where is Will?"

Eileen had unharnessed Delia from the shafts, allowing her to rest and crop the grass. She pointed. "Over

yonder, t'other side o' the path, with Hetty." She raised her voice. "You found it yet, Will?"

The dairyman called back to his wife. "No, not yet, my dear. Ouch!"

The maidservant Hetty could be heard giggling. "You found it now, Will. Tripped straight over it. Like as not

sprained your ankle again!"

Will was thankful the darkness hid his furious blushes. "No harm done. Bring some light over here, you young

'uns!"

A massive ancient oak tree overshadowed the path at that point. Beneath the shade of its outstretched limbs a