"They should not have done that," he exclaimed. "Look at the time wasted."
"I understand the Bank wished it, sir," Brennan answered. "Mr. Wallace told me as much. He said he and his directors were satisfied no one could solve the riddle as you could, and head-quarters had been asked not to put anyone else in charge, but to leave you with an absolutely free hand."
"It is very good of them," Durham said. "But still—look at the chance it has given the thieves to get away with the gold."
"They haven't gone, sir," Brennan said quietly.
"How do you know?"
"One of them was seen only last night," Brennan continued in a low tone. "He was seen on the Taloona road, riding the white horse. That is what puzzles me. How does he hide that horse? It's never been seen in any of the paddocks for miles round, for everyone is on the watch for it. And a man can't hide a white horse in a hollow log—it must run somewhere some time."
"Where is Mrs. Eustace?"
"She's at Smart's cottage. She came in from Taloona yesterday. That's what makes it strange, to my mind, this white horse and rider being seen on the Taloona road the day she leaves the place."
"Where are the troopers—Conlon and his mate?"
"Went away three days ago, sir, on orders from head-quarters."