Carn was slow and Simon was sensational; but in the end they cancelled out, for Carn had had a start of several months. He knew from certain happenings one evening that Templar was hot on the Tiger’s heels; he was not unduly perturbed, for he could have said the same for himself. In his quiet way, he had already given some attention to Sir John Bittle, and he knew quite a lot about that unpopular man and his strongly fortified house with its garrison of toughs. He had also put some work into Bloem, among others; but Bloem was the more slippery customer, and Carn had made very little headway, so that the Boer’s sudden prominence in the field came as a surprise. Carn, recuperating from the shock with his well-tried resilience, had nevertheless not yet had time to follow up the clue which the Saint had provided. Carn had also an eye to the possibilities of Agatha Girton; he knew of her strange and secretive association with Bittle, but so far he had been unable to account for it better than by assuming her to be in with the gang—though in what capacity, and with what rank, he hadn’t an inkling. There was Algy, for another; and Inspector Carn was prepared to believe startling things of Algy. The other three—Shaw, Smith and Lapping—Carn had decided to rule out. Lapping in particular, with the policeman’s ingrained reverence for the Law and its higher officers, he barred completely. In fact, except the Saint, Sir Michael Lapping was the only man in Baycombe who knew Carn’s true designation and sole interest in life—Lapping was a Justice of the Peace, and Carn, hopeful of success, realised that the ex-judge was an indispensable ally, for Carn carried a warrant ready for Lapping’s signature as soon as the name of the Tiger could be filled in with reasonable certainty. Taking things all round, therefore, Carn reckoned that he was as well posted as the Saint—and in this he was very nearly right. It was Carn’s misfortune that he had never been privileged to make the acquaintance of Fernando, and that because of this loss he had been unaware of the significance of the Old House. Carn had a hobby which he had only adopted since his arrival in Baycombe. He was as enthusiastic about it as he was about butterflies and beetles, but he reserved his pleasure for the hours when he was alone. The nearest telephone was at Ilfracombe, and by Carn’s orders all letters addressed to Baycombe were opened at the post-office there, copied, tested for invisible ink, and forwarded to their destinations after he had been informed of the results of this prying. It was because of divers hints which he had picked up by this means that Carn became so passionately devoted to wireless. It was on the day following the apotheosis of Bloem, when the remains of his lunch had been cleared away, that Carn’s hobby justified its adoption.