“‘Let me out!’ he shouted. ‘There’s some trickery in this. Coachman, stop the coach! Let me out, I say!’
“I dashed him back into his seat as he tried to turn the handle of the door. He roared for help. I clapped my palm across his mouth. He made his teeth meet through the side of it. I seized his own cravat and bound it over his lips. He still mumbled and gurgled, but the noise was covered by the rattle of our wheels. We were passing the minister’s house, and there was no candle in the window.
“The messenger sat quiet for a little, and I could see the glint of his eyes as he stared at me through the gloom. He was partly stunned, I think, by the force with which I had hurled him into his seat. And also he was pondering, perhaps, what he should do next. Presently he got his mouth partly free from the cravat.
“‘You shall have my watch and my purse if you will let me go,’ said he.
“‘Sir,’ said I, ‘I am as honourable a man as you are yourself.’
“‘Who are you, then?’
“‘My name is of no importance.’
“‘What do you want with me?’
“‘It is a bet.’
“‘A bet? What d’you mean? Do you understand that I am on the Government service, and that you will see the inside of a gaol for this?’