“You are forgetting the Excise officer,” interpolated his cousin.
“What odds? I’ll admit it was he who put the notion into Basil’s head, but it’s no more than a notion, and when Basil hears the Runners found no trace of me, he’ll think himself mistaken, after all. Nye’s of the opinion they don’t set much store by the information laid.”
“It’s plain they set very little store by it, since they didn’t send their best men down to investigate it, but they are likely to take a more serious view of the matter when they discover that Eustacie has no abigail with her.”
“Ludovic,” said Miss Thane in a meditative voice, “thinks it would be a good thing to capture the Runners and bestow them in the cellar.”
“A famous plan!” said Sir Tristram sardonically.
“Yes, but me, I do not agree,” said Eustacie, frowning.
“You surprise me.”
“Just a moment! “ interposed Thane, who all this time had been sitting at a small table by the fire, easting his dice, right hand against left. “You can’t imprison law officers in the cellar. For one thing, it’s a criminal offence, and for another there’s a deal of precious liquor in the cellar. I don’t like that red-nosed fellow; I think he ought to be got rid of. What’s more, I’ve had a score against Sampson Wright for a long time, and I don’t mind putting a spoke in his wheel. But I won’t have his Runners kidnapped.”
“Well!” said his sister. “I think you are most unreasonable, Hugh, I must say. After all, it was you who threw a boot at the Runner.”
“That’s a very different thing,” replied Thane. “There’s nothing to be said against throwing a boot at a fellow who comes nosing into one’s room. But kidnapping’s another matter.”