“‘Now, Bentley,’ he said, in a whisper, ‘you must have this fellow in; he has evidently drunk some drugged beer somewhere, and the mare has come home with him. You must have the fellow in, and let him lie on the squab till morning. I’ll put up the mare and be back and get Latter, and we’ll secure the fellow.’ “Bentley then shook the fellow. ‘Heigh-ho!’ said he, ‘won’t you get down, stranger?’ “‘What is it?’ asked the fellow, drowsily. “‘It is the Grey Goose public-house,’ said Bentley; ‘you’ll put up your horse, and have your nap out.’” “‘Grey Goose?’ said the fellow. ‘Have you oats—have you good ale?’ “‘Both,’ said Bentley, and with Tom’s help they got the stupified fellow down, and into the house. Then he looked about rather more wakefully, and said— “‘It’s queer how I came here; there’s d—d hockley indyberries in this beer. Landlord, you’ve a good tap, eh?’ “‘First-rate!’ said Bentley, ‘no bacca nor hockley-indy in our beer.’ He fetched the man a pint, who drank it off at a breath, said, ‘You’ve a safe stable, eh?’ and being assured of that, lay along on the squab, a sort of wooden sofa, and fell asleep again. Meantime, Tom Boddily led the mare to her own stable, and woke up Job Latter, who came with his handcuffs and a strap, and secured the fellow as he still slept in a stupid, drunken sleep. You may imagine the surprise and joy at Fair Manor in the morning; and I can assure you that Tom Boddily yesterday won great credit among the justices for his adroitness, when the case came before them. “That really was very clever,” said Mr. Woodburn; “but what is Boddily to do? Had you not better take up Hopcraft on suspicion?” “I doubt that,” said Sir Henry. “We must create no alarm. I would employ Tom to sound Hopcraft a little without exciting his alarm too much, and if he thinks him guilty, to set out to beat up Scammel before we arrest Hopcraft. We can keep an eye on Hopcraft meantime, he is so stupid a fellow that it won’t be difficult.” Sir Henry immediately went up to Fair Manor, and returned, saying, “Mrs. Heritage believed Dr. Leroy’s letter was the Lord’s work, and Boddily should be put at once and wholly at our service.” Soon after Tom made his appearance, and the matter being explained to him in confidence, he said at once— “That’s it! My word for it, gentlemen, you have hit it. There is something wrong about that Hopcraft. He is sunk into a wretched pauper, and have not you noticed he is always looking behind him, at any little noise, as if he were afraid of a constable after him. As to that Scammel, I have not seen him for many a month. There’s something in that. He used to come to the Grey Goose of an evening, every now and then. But I’ll hunt him up if he is in the land of the living.”