"No; the first time was over there at the nets before play began. I noticed those two men behind Teddy's net. They were not watching him; that called my attention to them. It's my belief they were lying in wait for Mr. Raffles; at any rate, when he came they moved away. But they followed us afterwards across the ground." "You are sure of that?" "I looked round to see," said Miss Belsize, avoiding my eyes for the first time. "Did you think the men--detectives?" And I forced a laugh. "I was afraid they might be, Mr. Manders, though I have never seen one off the stage." "Still," I pursued, with painfully sustained amusement, "you were ready to find A.J. Raffles being shadowed here at Lord's of all places in the world?" "I was ready for anything, anywhere," said Miss Belsize, "after all I heard yesterday afternoon." "You mean about poor Mr. Garland and his affairs?" It was an ingenuously disingenuous suggestion; it brought my companion's eyes back to mine, with something of the scorn that I deserved. "No, Mr. Manders, I meant after what we all heard between Mr. Levy and Mr. Raffles; and you knew very well what I meant," added Miss Belsize severely. "But surely you didn't take all that seriously?" said I, without denying the just impeachment. "How could I help it? The insinuation was serious enough, in all conscience!" exclaimed Camilla Belsize. "That is," said I, since she was not to be wilfully misunderstood, "that poor old Raffles had something to do with this jewel robbery at Carlsbad?" "If it was a robbery." She winced at the word. "Do you mean it might have been a trick?" said I, recalling the victim's own make-believe at the Albany. And not only did Camilla appear to embrace that theory with open arms; she had the nerve to pretend that it really was what she had meant. "Obviously!" says she, with an impromptu superiority worthy of Raffles himself. "I wonder you never thought of that, Mr. Manders, when you know what a trick you both played Mr. Levy only yesterday. Mr. Raffles himself told us all about that; and I'm very grateful to you both; you must know I am--for Teddy's sake," added Miss Belsize, with one quick remorseful glance towards the great arena. "Still it only shows what Mr. Raffles is--and--and it's what I meant when we were talking about him yesterday." "I don't remember," said I, remembering fast enough. "In the rockery," she reminded me. "When you asked what people said about him, and I said that about living on his wits." "And being a paid amateur!" "But the other was the worst." "I'm not so sure," said I. "But his wits wouldn't carry him very far if he only took necklaces and put them back again." "But it was all a joke," she reminded us both with a bit of a start. "It must have been a joke, if Mr. Raffles did it at all. And it would be dreadful if anything happened to him because of a wretched practical joke!"