"I suppose I made it plain that this isn't going to be any sort of a picnic," said Colin, with a side glance at his companion. "According to Medwin, we've got Cooper and Hudson to tackle as well as Fenton, and I should think it's a hundred to one that they'll all three be armed." "Cooper will for a certainty," replied the Inspector, "and what's more, he won't hesitate to shoot. However, I took the precaution of slipping a Smith and Webley into my pocket, and I told Bentley to do the same. If Mister Cooper prefers a bullet to a rope, he can damned well take his choice." "I only hope Medwin doesn't get away," said Colin, with some feeling. "He's tied up all right at present, but his servants will be back before we're through with this job, and directly they've set him loose he'll probably try to do a bolt." "He may try," returned the Inspector, "but he won't get very far. I've sent down two of our best men to watch the house, and, no matter where he goes, they'll stick to him like his shadow." He paused for a moment as Colin swerved round a cluster of startled pedestrians, and then added with a dry smile: "We don't want to waste any time, doctor, but you might just keep it in mind that I'm a married man, with three children dependent on me." "I won't smash you up," replied Colin. "I may seem to be driving fast, but I've got too much at stake to play the fool." He cut across the broad space at the corner of Farringdon Street, and, leaving the river on his right hand, plunged into one of the long warehouse-lined streets which lead through the heart of the city. The short day was already closing in, and the tall buildings on either side were a blaze of electric light. "I don't know if you're in any doubt about the way," said the Inspector. "You had better consult Bentley if you are. He's an Essex man himself, and knows every inch of the country." "I think I can find it," was Colin's answer. He slowed down a little and glanced back over his shoulder. "We go through Barking and Rainham, don't we?" The sergeant, who was sitting up stiffly alongside of Joe, nodded his head. "That's right, sir. It's practically a straight road from there to South Ockendon." They drove on silently through the crowded streets, the Inspector making no further attempt to talk, and Colin devoting his whole attention to the strenuous work of avoiding the traffic. After negotiating the apparently interminable length of the Commercial Road and the East India Dock Road, they made their way through the squalid region of East Ham and emerged at last into the historic if evil-smelling neighbourhood of Barking. Then, bit by bit, the houses began to give place to stunted hedges and low-lying fields, while a little distance away on the right the red and green lights of the steamers passing up and down the Thames flashed out mysteriously in the gathering dusk.