The intruders were not in the least abashed. On the contrary, they had every evidence of being very sure of their ground. The foremost touched Copley on the shoulder.
"Mr. Raymond Copley, I believe?" he said politely.
"It would be foolish to deny it," Copley sneered.
"Very good, sir," the stranger went on. "And this other gentleman is Mr. Foster?"
Foster nodded uneasily. He held the screwdriver he was using and waited for developments with white face and quivering lips.
"That being so, gentlemen," the stranger said, "I may as well introduce myself. I am Inspector Andrews of Scotland Yard and this is my assistant. We have a warrant for the arrest of both of you on the charge of obtaining a large sum of money by means of a trick from Mr. Selwyn and others in connection with race meetings at Mirst Park. The warrant was obtained on the information of Mr. Selwyn, and you will please consider yourselves my prisoners. Anything you say, of course, will be given in evidence against you."
Copley cursed himself under his breath. What a fool he had been to come here! The matter would have been bad enough if he had been arrested at Seton Manor, but to be taken here, to be identified in this fashion at The Nook was fatal. There was nothing for it in the circumstances but to try to bluster.
"This is an outrage," he exclaimed. "It is a mere tale to extort money from a man in my position. You haven't a scrap of evidence to justify a proceeding like this."
"That remains to be proved, sir," the Inspector said quietly. "I may say that your accomplice, Captain Eversleigh, is already in custody and is volunteering all the information we require. We have also arrested the man Chaffey in the neighbourhood of Covent Garden. More than that, we have interviewed the National Telephone authorities, and they have not been reticent, either. Besides that, we can produce the agent who let this house and who has already identified you. Also, we have taken possession of the office of Jolly & Co., and your accomplice there is in our hands also. I don't think we have left anything undone. We motored to Seton Manor, but you had left just before we arrived. We kept you under observation till now. Come, Mr. Copley, nothing will be gained by taking this attitude. I am telling you this in fairness to yourself so that you may know what you have to answer."
Copley was done and submitted quietly to have the handcuffs put upon his wrists. Foster seemed equally subdued. He advanced towards the Inspector's assistant, then suddenly lunged forward, brushed him aside, and darted through the door into the open air. Instantly he was lost in the thick bushes. Inspector Andrews shrugged his shoulders.