There was something so irresistibly ludicrous in the idea, that we both indulged in a hearty fit of laughter, and with one accord we turned and walked down the road.
"He may keep his fast car elsewhere," remarked the detective, when his mirth had subsided.
"It would be difficult to bring the guilt home to him if we failed to discover the car," I replied.
A few seconds later we met the man whom we had so lately suspected. I felt a tinge of shame at the thought that, a few minutes previously, I had been sneaking into his house in the hope that I should find evidence to convict him of a crime. By this time dawn was sufficiently advanced to allow of recognition, and as he came level with us Mannering pulled up.
"Hullo, Sutgrove!" he shouted. "You're about betimes. Been on the same job as myself?"
"What's that, Mr. Mannering?" asked Forrest
"Looking for an opportunity to pay back this little debt," was the light answer, as the speaker tapped his shoulder gently.
"Any luck?" said Forrest, dryly.
"Not a scrap," was the ready reply. "You see I'm a bit handicapped with this old car, for unless the fellow happens to take the same road as myself, there's precious little chance of my picking him up. Still, if you do not soon succeed in catching him, I think I shall have a good try myself."
"I suppose by that you know who he is," I remarked, more in order to see what he would say than in the hope of eliciting anything.