“If she does,” said Mr. Goddard, “it won’t make much matter to you or any one else. The new one you’ll get can’t be worse to look at than the one you have.”
“I don’t know,” said Sergeant Farrelly, “how will the sergeant’s wife at Ballymoy like having them tricks played with her bicycle. She’s a cousin of my own.”
He had never had a high opinion of Cole’s stratagems, and it pained him to have to listen to the praise bestowed on this one.
“She can get a new tyre,” said Mr. Goddard; “and serve her jolly well right for lending her bicycle to Miss Blow. She ought to have had more sense.”
A few minutes later Lord Manton and Mr. Goddard entered the commercial room of the hotel. They had with them a warrant for the arrest of Theodore Guy Red of Rosivera on a charge of wilful murder. They spread this out on the table and invited Miss Blow to inspect it. She did so, scanning every line carefully.
“It’s not signed,” she said.
“No,” said Lord Manton. “We thought you’d prefer to have it signed in your presence. Kindly ring the bell, Mr. Goddard.”
“What for?” said Miss Blow.
“I want a pen and ink, for one thing,” said Lord Manton. “And I want Jimmy O’Loughlin. He’s going to sign it too.”