He drew smoke into his lungs, and with it the sweet smell of green leaves.
“This sort of thing is my job, and I’ve had more practice than you.”
“But suppose Uncle Burt wakes up.”
“I shall immediately hypnotize him so that he falls into a deep sleep again.”
“Or suppose the servants catch you.”
“I shall tie them up in bundles of three and heave them into the outer darkness.”
“But suppose you are caught?”
He laughed.
“It’ll be a sign that the end of the world is at hand. But don’t worry. Even if that happens it’ll cause a certain amount of commotion, and if you hear it I shall expect you to drive rapidly away and await the end in some other province. I shall tell them I came out here on roller skates. It’s not your burglary any more — it’s mine.”
He swung his immaculately tailored legs over the side and dropped lightly to the road, and without another word he was gone, melting into the obscurity like a ghost.