that looney Percy disobeying my orders. But you know, sir,” he added, “although the idiot has saved us from a
pitched battle on Littlestone Beach, and without knowing it kept many a tough skull uncracked, I’ll have to belt him
for all that.”
“For my part,” said Doctor Syn, “I am glad to find that it was but the work of an idiot, and not the clever
officiousness of one of our o wn men. I should deal gently with him and not give him the chance to do such a thing
again. I would be highly dangerous. You must keep that set of signs away from his fingers in future.”
“You mean I’m not to belt him?” asked Mipps.
“You can discover if you can what induced him to do it,” went on Syn. “But I doubt whether he’ll know by
tomorrow. We must bear in mind that the poor lad is simple.”
As they galloped after the cavalcade across the Marsh, Syn instructed Mipps to find out whether any of the
Nightriders had heard news of the missing fisherman, Hart. “We must remember, Mipps, that he is not only one of
my parishioners, but also a Scarecrow’s man, and the more I think of that stove boat, the more I suspect foul play.
Now Fred had no enemies. He was a good companion to all. But the Scarecrow has plenty, and there is always the
possibility that one or more of them, unable to get at the scarecrow, are trying to do so through one of his followers.
It is significant that it should happen immediately upon the arrival of Captain Blain. If my guest knows anything of
the matter he’ll be hard put to it to conceal his knowledge from me. That is the advantage of having him at the
vicarage.
“We’ll get Jimmie Bone to keep his ears open,” returned Mipps. “He has a rare knack of picking up information.
His ‘orrid trade of a robber has taught him that.”
“Aye, tell him we must know what has happened to Fred Hart,” said Syn. “Until we can question him alive, or
examine his dead body, we shall not know who has done this thing, and we have enough dangers to cope with,
without the greatest one, which is Uncertainty. Find out what you can.”
In spite of the added forces against them, with the coming of the Navy men, all concerned congratulated
themselves that there had never been a landing run to the hills more smoothly, for by the time the goods had been
dispersed amongst the ‘hides,’ and horses and pack-ponies had been returned to their various stables there was not a
sore head that sought its pillow, two hours before the dawn. Not a blow had been struck, except a mighty one
against the pride of Captain Blain, who did not reach his bed without an unpleasant storm of derision from the
soldiery.
“I think in future, sir,” Major Faunce had remarked icily, “that we had better work separately, or with a fuller
confidence together. How you got your information of a landing upon Littlestone Beach I do not know. Had you
thought fit to tell me I might have been able to see that it was but a red herring drawn across the trail by the
Scarecrow’s order. You forget, sir, that I have had a pretty good experience of his cleverness, and as you can now
see for yourself, the clue that lured you to Littlestone was just to ensure that you were there, wasting your time.
Until we realize that the Scarecrow is a good deal cleverer than we are, we shall get nowhere.”
“It will not be very long, Major Faunce,” retorted the captain, “before I invite you to attend the Scarecrow’s
hanging. I have never been the man to give up a fight because my opponent has the advantage of me in the first
round, and I have not yet begun to fight the Scarecrow. I promise you that he will not fool the senior service while I
represent it, as he has fooled the junior o ne.”
“Your manner, Captain Blain,” retorted the Major, “suggests a challenge, which I am perfectly willing to take up.
You say that you will invite me to the scarecrow’s hanging. Personally I confess that I have no great faith that either
of us will catch him, much less hang him. You forget that we are dealing with a person who was once imprisoned in
a cell at the top of Dover Castle, and yet managed to fly out of the window and float through the air like a witch on a
broomstick. At least this was vouched for by members of the Castle staff and the sentries. However, hopeless as I
take our task to be, I’ll yet wager you a hundred guineas that I will catch this criminal before you do. Let it be a
rivalry between us. If one of us succeeds, well, it will be all the better for the Marsh.”
“I doubt that indeed,” responded the Captain. “The prosperity of this little village is not due to the munificence
of the Squire, with whom you lodge, but to the good money which is slipping through the fingers of the Revenue.”
When the village woke to work the following morning, everybody seemed to know that there was open friction
between the two camps ranged against the scarecrow.
But the same capacity for gleaning information which Dymchurch seemed to possess, had as yet no news
concerning the missing Fred Hart, for Percy was late at the Coffin Shop, fearing to tell Mipps that he had changed
the signs, and when he eventually did so, Mipps kept the information for only the ears of Doctor Syn.
When Percy sheepishly entered the Coffin Shop with the two hearts in his buckets, he saw to his horror that Judy
was standing upon the coffin lid, and as he blinked guiltily at the idol he was aware that the Sexton was unstrapping
the thick belt that held his breeches. He shuddered as he saw the great brass buckle, and imagined it cutting into his
flesh, especially as Mipps was demanding sharply what he meant by changing the floats without permission.
Fear made him drawl out a lie which his simple brain told him might be a good excuse.
“I asked her about it,” he stammered. “You was out, or I’d have asked you, Mister Mipps. I wanted to.”
“But why did you do it?” demanded the angry Sexton.
“I done it out of respect to the old Harts,” he drawled. “They was always good to me, same as you, and I thought
s how it would please ‘em what with their Golden Wedding, and them not having lost poor Fred after all, as yet”
“What’s that?” snapped Mipps. “As yet? What do you mean by, ‘As yet’?”
Thereupon Percy recounted what he had overheard outside the barn, and all he had done after it, adding as a great
confession of guilt: “And I stole a pinch of snuff from your tin up yonder. I done that to cure myself of the snivels,
what come when I heard about the Hart boat, I come back here as I told you to get the two hearts, I did. I was wrong
about the snuff. I didn’t mean to be a thief, but you can belt me for that if you please.”
“You keep your mouth shut, now,” replied Mipps, “and don’t tell no one what you’ve told me, and then no one
won’t be the wiser. I don’t think I’ll have to belt you, seeing as how you did what you thought best, but I’ll have to
go and ask the Vicar what he thinks.”
Doctor Syn had an amusing breakfast watching the disgruntled Captain, who was in the worst of tempers, and
could not be led into conversation.
It was while preparing to read Matins that he met Mipps in the vestry, and heard the news dragged out of Percy.
He took a serious view of the fact that Fred Hart had betrayed them and was still a prisoner.
“He’ll get no mercy now from Captain Blain,” he said. “But we cannot see him hang, for the sake of his wife and
him, and then deal with his case. As to Percy, I agree with you, Mipps, that your belt would be a scurvy thanks, and