"Yes, certainly; until you are well on your way. And any one else who may happen to be in the car. I will give you authority covering that."
"The two local men can take him, or them, back to Guildford—it will be dark by the time they get there—for detention while enquiries are being made. Then if a plain-clothes man meets me at Willesden we can go on, and our driver can take the car on to Scotland Yard."
"You see no difficulty throughout?" said B. anxiously. The inspector assured him that all seemed plain sailing. It was not his place to foresee difficulties in B.'s plans.
"Then I shall expect you to report to me from Stafford about 10.30 to-night that everything is satisfactory. Let me impress on you as a last word the need of care and unconcern in this case. It must be successfully carried out, and to do that there must be no fuss or publicity."
"Sergeant," said Detective-Inspector Moeletter, when they were outside, "between ourselves, can you tell me this: why they think it necessary to have three mute gentlemen looking on while we arrange a matter of this sort?"
"Between ourselves, sir," replied Sergeant Tolkeith, looking cautiously around, "it's my belief that it's come to this: that they are all half-afraid of themselves and can't trust one another."
"D.," remarked C., as they left together a few minutes later, "does anything strike you about B.?"
"It strikes me that he looks rather like an undertaker's man when he is dressed up," replied D.
"Does it not strike you that he is afraid?"
"Oh," admitted D., stroking his wounded cheek, "that's quite possible. So am I, for that matter."