“Why！Whatonearth？It’sSOAP！No！——youscoundrel。Don’tyoumovethathand。“
　　“It’ssoap，“saidMr。Ledbetter。“Fromyourwashstand。Nodoubtit——“
　　“Don’ttalk，“saidthestoutman。“Iseeit’ssoap。Ofallincrediblethings。“
　　“IfImightexplain——“
　　“Don’texplain。It’ssuretobealie，andthere’snotimeforexplanations。WhatwasIgoingtoaskyou？Ah！Haveyouanymates？“
　　“Inafewminutes，ifyou——“
　　“Haveyouanymates？Curseyou。IfyoustartanysoapypalaverI’llshoot。Haveyouanymates？“
　　“No，“saidMr。Ledbetter。
　　“Isupposeit’salie，“saidthestoutman。“Butyou’llpayforitifitis。Whythedeucedidn’tyoufloormewhenIcameupstairs？
　　Youwon’tgetachancetonow，anyhow。Fancygettingunderthebed！
　　Ireckonit’safaircop，anyhow，sofarasyouareconcerned。“
　　“Idon’tseehowIcouldproveanalibi，“remarkedMr。Ledbetter，tryingtoshowbyhisconversationthathewasaneducatedman。
　　Therewasapause。Mr。Ledbetterperceivedthatonachairbesidehiscaptorwasalargeblackbagonaheapofcrumpledpapers，andthatthereweretornandburntpapersonthetable。Andinfrontofthese，andarrangedmethodicallyalongtheedgewererowsandrowsoflittleyellowrouleaux——ahundredtimesmoregoldthanMr。
　　Ledbetterhadseeninallhislifebefore。Thelightoftwocandles，insilvercandlesticks，felluponthese。Thepausecontinued。“Itisratherfatiguingholdingupmyhandslikethis，“saidMr。Ledbetter，withadeprecatorysmile。
　　“That’sallright，“saidthefatman。“ButwhattodowithyouIdon’texactlyknow。“
　　“Iknowmypositionisambiguous。“
　　“Lord！“saidthefatman，“ambiguous！Andgoesaboutwithhisownsoap，andwearsathunderinggreatclericalcollar。YouAREabloomingburglar，youare——ifevertherewasone！“
　　“Tobestrictlyaccurate，“saidMr。Ledbetter，andsuddenlyhisglassesslippedoffandclatteredagainsthisvestbuttons。
　　Thefatmanchangedcountenance，aflashofsavageresolutioncrossedhisface，andsomethingintherevolverclicked。Heputhisotherhandtotheweapon。AndthenhelookedatMr。Ledbetter，andhiseyewentdowntothedroppedpince-nez。
　　“Full-cocknow，anyhow，“saidthefatman，afterapause，andhisbreathseemedtocatch。“ButI’lltellyou，you’veneverbeensoneardeathbefore。Lord！I’Malmostglad。Ifithadn’tbeenthattherevolverwasn’tcockedyou’dbelyingdeadtherenow。“
　　Mr。Ledbettersaidnothing，buthefeltthattheroomwasswaying。
　　“Amissisasgoodasamile。It’sluckyforbothofusitwasn’t。
　　Lord！“Heblewnoisily。“There’snoneedforyoutogopale-greenforalittlethinglikethat。“
　　“IfIcanassureyou，sir——“saidMr。Ledbetter，withaneffort。
　　“There’sonlyonethingtodo。IfIcallinthepolice，I’mbust——
　　alittlegameI’vegotonisbust。Thatwon’tdo。IfItieyouupandleaveyouagain，thethingmaybeoutto-morrow。Tomorrow’sSunday，andMonday’sBankHoliday——I’vecountedonthreecleardays。Shootingyou’smurder——andhanging；andbesides，itwillbustthewholebloomingkernooze。I’mhangedifIcanthinkwhattodo——
　　I’mhangedifIcan。“
　　“Willyoupermitme——“
　　“Yougasasmuchasifyouwerearealparson，I’mblessedifyoudon’t。Ofalltheburglarsyouarethe——Well！No！——IWON’Tpermityou。Thereisn’ttime。Ifyoustartoffjawingagain，I’llshootrightinyourstomach。See？ButIknownow-Iknownow！Whatwe’regoingtodofirst，myman，isanexaminationforconcealedarms——
　　anexaminationforconcealedarms。Andlookhere！WhenItellyoutodoathing，don’tstartoffatagabble——doitbrisk。“
　　Andwithmanyelaborateprecautions，andalwayspointingthepistolatMr。Ledbetter’shead，thestoutmanstoodhimupandsearchedhimforweapons。“Why，youAREaburglar！“hesaid“You’reaperfectamateur。Youhaven’tevenapistol-pocketinthebackofyourbreeches。No，youdon’t！Shutup，now。“
　　Sosoonastheissuewasdecided，thestoutmanmadeMr。Ledbettertakeoffhiscoatandrolluphisshirt-sleeves，and，withtherevolveratoneear，proceedwiththepackinghisappearancehadinterrupted。
　　Fromthestoutman’spointofviewthatwasevidentlytheonlypossiblearrangement，forifhehadpacked，hewouldhavehadtoputdowntherevolver。SothateventhegoldonthetablewashandledbyMr。Ledbetter。Thisnocturnalpackingwaspeculiar。
　　Thestoutman’sideawasevidentlytodistributetheweightofthegoldasunostentatiouslyaspossiblethroughhisluggage。Itwasbynomeansaninconsiderableweight。Therewas，Mr。Ledbettersays，altogethernearlyL18，000ingoldintheblackbagandonthetable。
　　TherewerealsomanylittlerollsofL5bank-notes。EachrouleauofL25waswrappedbyMr。Ledbetterinpaper。Theserouleauxwerethenputneatlyincigarboxesanddistributedbetweenatravellingtrunk，aGladstonebag，andahatbox。AboutL600wentinatobaccotininadressing-bag。L10ingoldandanumberofL5notesthestoutmanpocketed。OccasionallyheobjurgatedMr。Ledbetter’sclumsiness，andurgedhimtohurry，andseveraltimesheappealedtoMr。
　　Ledbetter’swatchforinformation。
　　Mr。Ledbetterstrappedthetrunkandbag，andreturnedthestoutmanthekeys。Itwasthentenminutestotwelve，anduntilthestrokeofmidnightthestoutmanmadehimsitontheGladstonebag，whilehesatatareasonablysafedistanceonthetrunkandheldtherevolverhandyandwaited。Heappearedtobenowinalessaggressivemood，andhavingwatchedMr。Ledbetterforsometime，heofferedafewremarks。
　　“FromyouraccentIjudgeyouareamanofsomeeducation，“hesaid，lightingacigar。“No——DON’Tbeginthatexplanationofyours。Iknowitwillbelong-windedfromyourface，andIammuchtoooldaliartobeinterestedinothermen’slying。Youare，Isay，apersonofeducation。Youdowelltodressasacurate。Evenamongeducatedpeopleyoumightpassasacurate。“
　　“IAMacurate，“saidMr。Ledbetter，“or，atleast——“
　　“Youaretryingtobe。Iknow。Butyoudidn’toughttoburgle。
　　Youarenotthemantoburgle。Youare，ifImaysayit——thethingwillhavebeenpointedouttoyoubefore——acoward。“
　　“Doyouknow，“saidMr。Ledbetter，tryingtogetafinalopening，“itwasthatveryquestion——“
　　Thestoutmanwavedhimintosilence。
　　“Youwasteyoureducationinburglary。Youshoulddooneoftwothings。Eitheryoushouldforgeoryoushouldembezzle。Formyownpart，Iembezzle。Yes；Iembezzle。Whatdoyouthinkamancouldbedoingwithallthisgoldbutthat？Ah！Listen！Midnight！……
　　Ten。Eleven。Twelve。Thereissomethingveryimpressivetomeinthatslowbeatingofthehours。Time——space；whatmysteriestheyare！Whatmysteries……It’stimeforustobemoving。
　　Standup！“
　　Andthenkindly，butfirmly，heinducedMr。Ledbettertoslingthedressingbagoverhisbackbyastringacrosshischest，toshoulderthetrunk，and，overrulingagaspingprotest，totaketheGladstonebaginhisdisengagedhand。Soencumbered，Mr。Ledbetterstruggledperilouslydownstairs。Thestoutgentlemanfollowedwithanovercoat，thehatbox，andtherevolver，makingderogatoryremarksaboutMr。
　　Ledbetter’sstrength，andassistinghimattheturningsofthestairs。
　　“Thebackdoor，“hedirected，andMr。Ledbetterstaggeredthroughaconservatory，leavingawakeofsmashedflower-potsbehindhim。
　　“Nevermindthecrockery，“saidthestoutman；“it’sgoodfortrade。
　　Wewaithereuntilaquarterpast。Youcanputthosethingsdown。Youhave！“
　　Mr。Ledbettercollapsedpantingonthetrunk。“Lastnight，“hegasped，“Iwasasleepinmylittleroom，andInomoredreamt——“
　　“There’snoneedforyoutoincriminateyourself，“saidthestoutgentleman，lookingatthelockoftherevolver。Hebegantohum。
　　Mr。Ledbettermadetospeak，andthoughtbetterofit。
　　Therepresentlycamethesoundofabell，andMr。Ledbetterwastakentothebackdoorandinstructedtoopenit。Afair-hairedmaninyachtingcostumeentered。AtthesightofMr。Ledbetterhestartedviolentlyandclappedhishandbehindhim。Thenhesawthestoutman。“Bingham！“hecried，“who’sthis？“
　　“Onlyalittlephilanthropicdoofmine——burglarI’mtryingtoreform。
　　Caughthimundermybedjustnow。He’sallright。He’safrightfulass。He’llbeusefultocarrysomeofourthings。“
　　ThenewcomerseemedinclinedtoresentMr。Ledbetter’spresenceatfirst，butthestoutmanreassuredhim。
　　“He’squitealone。There’snotagangintheworldwouldownhim。