Lamacraft, thus addressed, proceeded a pace or two until stopped by Mr. Lyddon.
“No call to go in. He’ll come down. But I’m sore puzzled to knaw what this means, for awnly last night I heard tell from Jan Grimbal’s awn lips that he’d chaanged his mind about a private matter bearin’ on this.”
“I want the man, anyways, an’ I be gwaine to have un,” declared Inspector Chown. He brought a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and gave them to the constable.
“Put up them gashly things, Abraham Chown,” said the miller sternly. “Doan’t ’e knaw Blanchard better ’n that?”
“Handcuffed he’ll be, whether he likes it or not,” answered the other; “an’ if theer’s trouble, I bid all present an’ any able-bodied men ’pon the premises to help me take him in the Queen’s name.”
Billy hobbled round the corner, thrust two fingers into his mouth, and blew a quavering whistle; whereupon two labourers, working a few hundred yards off, immediately dropped their tools and joined him.
“Run you here,” he cried. “P’lice be corned to taake Will Blanchard, an’ us must all give the Law a hand, for theer’ll be blows struck if I knaw un.”
“Will Blanchard! What have he done?”
“Been under a alias—that’s the least of it, but—God, He knaws—it may rise to murder. ’T is our bounden duty to help Chown against un.”
“Be danged if I do!” said one of the men.