“Dunno. Gorn fra walk, mos’ likely. ’E might be chasin’ ippopotamoscerosses acrorst Epping Forest,” enlarged Orace, become humorous, “or ’e might be ’opping up’n’ dahn the ’Ome Secrety’s chimbley looking fer Santiclaws. Or ’e mightn’t. ’Oo knows, as the actriss said ta the bishup?” “Now, look here, Little Tich,” rasped Carn with pardonable heat, “I haven’t sweated up this blasted mountain in a temperature like hell warmed up just to hear a lot of funny back chat from you. The Tiger’s going to push you over the cliff to-night, but you don’t matter much. It’s Mr. Templar I came to warn.” Orace looked meditatively at the detective. “Ho?” he remarked. “Ho! Well in that case . . .” His right hand came out of cover, revealing the blunderbuss which Carn had seen before. It levelled on the detective’s waistcoat, and Carn needed all his experienced agility to knock it up and wrench it out of Orace’s hand before any damage could be done. Then he chucked it round the corner of the Pill Box. “Don’t be such a blazing lunatic!” he snapped. “As far as I can see, the only use for that lump of ivory above your ears is that it makes a place to hang your hat on. Don’t you see that I’m trying to save your worthless skin? I tell you, the Tiger’s laying for you both this evening. Got it? Tiger—T-I-G-E-R—Tiger! You know who he is, don’t you? Well, look out, that’s all. He’s aiming to have the pair of you ready for the morgue by morning, and if you wake up and find yourselves dead after this nobody can blame me.” “Nobody’s gonna worry ’bout you, cocky,” Orace assured him. “Thankin’ ya kindly fer the tip, an’ will ya go back to the Tiger an’ tell ’im Mr. Templar an’ me are layin’ fer ’im to-night, an’ so if ’e wants ta pick up a packet o’ trouble this is our ’ome address?” “Well, you go off and find your boss, Orace, and pass the tip along to him,” said Carn shortly, and, turning his back on the man, lumbered off down the hill again. He found the trap waiting for him outside the inn, with a farm hand on the box and an expectant urchin in tow. Largesse was forthcoming, and then Carn clambered up beside the driver. “Ilfracombe,” he ordered, “and make all the speed you can. I’m on an urgent case.”