"But I didn't mean to keep the things—"
"You pinched them," Simon pointed out. "And the police don't know anything about what people mean. Do you realize that you've committed larceny on a scale that'd make a lot of professionals jealous and that you could be sent to prison for quite a long time?"
The other's mouth fell open.
"I hadn't thought of it like that," he said feebly. "It was all on the spur of the moment — I hadn't realized — My God, what am I going to do?"
"The best thing you can do, my lad," said the Saint sensibly, "is to put them back before there's any fuss."
"But—"
There was something so comical about the young man's blankly horrified paralysis that Simon couldn't help taking pity on him.
"Come on," he said. "He can't eat you, and the sooner he gets his bonds back the less likely he is to try. Look here — I'll drive over with you if you like and see that he behaves himself, and we'll take a tenner off him at the same time."
"It's awfully good of you," Graham began weakly; and the Saint grinned and stood up.
"We always try to oblige our customers," he said.