The Saint Meets His Match (She was a Lady)

Guildford, and I'll look out the rest while we're going along.'

He knew the place was near Guildford, because that was where the telegram which he had intercepted had been handed in; and the prosaic words on the tape past­ed across the Inland Telegraph form seemed to stand out in the blackness in letters of fire when he closed his eyes, although they merely conveyed information which should not have been in the least disturbing to a man of Teal's experience.

 

Have taken Trelawney and Templar. Come down at once.

 

The message had been signed with the name of the chief commissioner, and it had been sent from Guildford at nine o'clock. An address was given at the end of the message.

It had taken Teal a whole ninety minutes to read be­tween the lines of that simple statement, and, even so, when he thought it over afterwards at his leisure, he was not disposed to consider himself slow on the uptake.

 

Chapter XIII

HOW   SIMON   TEMPLAR    SURRENDERED,

AND  CHIEF  INSPECTOR  TEAL  WAS  NOT

HELPFUL

 

 

EVERY light in the house seemed to be on when Cullis ar­rived at the gate of the little garden. It stood in a dark side road; and, so far as he could make out, it was one of those picturesque places often to be found in country byways which modern enterprise has taken and improved without damaging the picture—a small, two-storied house with outside beams and a gabled roof, and an atmos­phere of comfortable serenity about it which seemed about to be belied that night.

He went up the short path and mounted a couple of steps to the front door. His hand was actually on the bell when he noticed that the door was not completely closed, and with a slight frown he pushed it open and stepped into the hall.

'Is that you, Cullis?'

The voice came down from the top of the stairs and startled him, though he recognized it at once as that of the chief commissioner.

'Yes, sir.'

'Come along up, will you?'

Cullis mounted the stairs. At the top he found a small landing, and on the landing was the chief commissioner with an automatic pistol in his hand.

'You got my message? Good. I'm glad to see you.'

'Where are they?' was Cullis's first question.

'In there.' The chief commissioner jerked his thumb at a closed door. 'I ran them to earth here, and here I was stuck. They've locked the door on the inside, but they can't get out through the window, because it's barred. They've been working away on the bars, but they haven't been able to get out yet. They can't get out through the door, because I'm waiting for them here. But they're armed themselves, and I didn't feel like committing suicide by trying to force my way in alone.'

'But are you alone, sir?.'

The commissioner nodded.

'Of course I am,' he said testily. 'That's how I got stuck. If you can tell me a way for one man to guard an inside door and an outside window at the same time I'll be glad to hear it.'

Cullis made a movement towards the door, and the chief reached out and jerked him back.