"Good!" said the man. "There's a warrant for some of them already. I'll get the constable, who lives over across the fields, and he'll pull 'em all in."
A half-hour later the whole gang was under arrest and on the way to the nearest lock-up.
The detective felt that his evening's work was not in vain. Whatever might be the facts about the connection of this gang with the affair at Colonel Richmond's, it was a good thing to get them all out of the way.
The colonel's presence among them proved that they were the spiritualistic crowd which was after him. Their removal would simplify matters.
Moreover, the colonel's presence, and his questioning of the spook, showed that any theory connecting him with the disappearance of the jewels was wrong.
It was evident that he had asked the questions in all sincerity, believing that he was really in the presence of his aunt's spirit.
He could hardly be crazy enough to do that, supposing that his lunacy had led him to abstract the jewels.
Having witnessed the arrest of the gang, Nick procured a horse and drove rapidly toward Colonel Richmond's house. He arrived there about half-past eleven o'clock.
There was a light in the parlor, and through the open window Nick beheld an unusual scene.
The colonel, Mrs. Pond and Horace were present. Mr. Pond was not in the house. He had returned to New York.