"Wait a little. There's a deep-laid scheme here. There's more than one man involved. Who is 'our friend'?"
"I must tell you what I saw last night, sir," said Kenneth.
He described the stealthy exit from the gate in the lane, and the discovery that it led from Monsieur Obernai's garden--behind the house in which they were then assembled. Captain Adams whistled under his breath.
"Rather serious for our polite Alsatian host," he said. "We must get to the bottom of this. It won't do to act too hastily. We must catch the fellow at it."
"But hang it all, we can't stop here under the roof of a spy," said a lieutenant.
"If I may suggest, sir," said Kenneth, "do nothing yet. Nobody knows about this except ourselves. If you leave the house or show any sign of suspicion, those who are involved will smell a rat, and we shall perhaps fail to learn all there is to be learnt. Wouldn't it be better if you go on as usual, and let Randall and me, and perhaps Murgatroyd, keep a watch on the lane?"
"But Obernai won't appear in the lane," said the captain.
"Very likely not, sir. I believe his work is done in the house. You remember the lamp signalling we saw in the church tower."
"That's in our hands now."
"Yes, and the light now comes from due east."