Vernon agreed, and by following the line of houses they finally managed, but with some difficulty, to get to the railway. Here they had to wait for a considerable time for a train, as the ordinary traffic was somewhat complicated by fog. It was eight o'clock before they reached Waterloo, and they learned from the stationmaster that nothing had been seen of the two men alluded to in the telegram, although each train and the barrier of the platform it arrived at had been watched by the police. Vernon was not surprised at this intelligence. "I thought both Hest and Maunders were too clever to risk a wire to Waterloo Station, as they knew I would send it." "What's to be done now?" "Let us go to your rooms and send a telegram to Drench at Hampstead asking him to come down." "The fog is still thick," said Towton as they stepped into a taxi; "perhaps he won't come. Hang it, every possible obstacle seems to be placed in our way. The blackguards will escape." "Not out of England, at all events," said Vernon grimly. "When we explain everything to Drench he will have all the stations and all the ports watched. We'll catch them sooner or later." But the young man spoke with more confidence than he actually felt, as he knew that Hest was extraordinarily clever in concealing himself. As The Spider he had baffled the police for years, and, being an arch-criminal, would be dexterous enough to escape even out of this tight corner. He began to consider what was best to be done after sending a wire to Inspector Drench, when his meditations were broken in upon by the Colonel. "Do you really believe that Hest is The Spider?" "Of course. Didn't you see his face change when Maunders spoke, and didn't he cut and run when he saw that the game was up?" "It certainly looks like guilt. And yet it seems incredible. The man always has lived in Yorkshire, whereas The Spider is supposed to live in town." "No one has ever known the whereabouts of The Spider," said Vernon coolly, "and it is as easy to write blackmailing letters in Yorkshire and post them in London as to live in town altogether for that purpose. Besides, his sister told me herself that Hest frequently went away for days and weeks at a time. Doubtless he was attending to his nefarious business in London." "How do you reconcile this devilry with his philanthropy?" "It seems odd, doesn't it? But we know that the worst criminals have their good points. There lives some soul of good in all things evil, you know." "I rather think," said the Colonel grimly, "that Hest looks upon himself as a kind of modern Robin Hood, who takes from the rich to give to the poor. He blackmailed wealthy folk in order to build his Bolly Reservoir and his confounded school-houses. Robbed Peter to pay Paul, as you might put it."