The men scowled and said nothing. The Inspector gave a sharp order, and every one went out of the room. For a minute or two Inspector Jenks examined the secret room, his eyes sharp and shrewd. Then he went downstairs too.
The five men and Jarvis were lined up in the hall. One of the policemen had put a lantern on a ledge and the scene was lighted up. The five children at the gate, feeling certain that things were safe now, crept up to the door and looked in.
“Golly! “ said Larry, in awe. “Look at them all - what scoundrels they look! What are they, Fatty, do you think? Thieves? Spies? Or what?”
“They might be anything,” said Fatty, squinting in. “They look bad enough!”
Suddenly Fatty slipped and fell, making a slithering noise. At once the front door was flung open and a policeman looked out.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s only us,” said Fatty, grinning up into the beam thrown by the torch. “Hallo, Inspector - we just came to see the fun.”
“Then you’ve no right to,” said the Inspector. “There might have been shooting. Frederick, which of these men did you see most of?”
Fatty pointed to the thin-lipped man and the red-faced one. “Have you got them all?” he said. “What about the one I locked into the coal-cellar?”
The prisoners looked astonished. The thin-lipped man spoke sharply to Fatty.