"Just when he wants a breath of fresh air, eh?" suggested Marsden genially. "Well, I'm much obliged to you, uncle. Perhaps you'll get yourself a drink when the pubs open."
He produced a shilling, which the old man readily accepted, and, with a slight pressure of his foot on the clutch, Colin again set the car in motion.
"Don't hurry," whispered Marsden. "Drive us slowly past the place and then stop. If any one's inside there's pretty sure to be a light in the windows."
Following his instructions, Colin proceeded noiselessly along the road, which curved away to the left about a hundred yards from where they had halted. As he rounded the bend a dark cluster of trees sprang into view a short distance ahead of him, and the next moment he was able to make out the roof and chimneys of a small house, which appeared to stand a little way back from the road.
"That's our mark," observed Marsden, with a grunt of satisfaction. He turned round in his seat and addressed the sergeant. "You hop out here, Bentley, and have a look at it from this side. We'll come back and meet you at the front gate."
With surprising quickness for so heavy a man, the sergeant stepped nimbly over on to the running board, and, just as they reached the shelter of the trees, dropped down into the roadway.
Driving on slowly, Colin passed the head of a narrow lane which turned off to the right. Beyond it a high wooden paling fronted the main road, broken in the centre by a couple of dilapidated iron gates, one of which was standing partly open. Farther back, behind a straggling shrubbery of laurels, the yellow gleam of a lighted window shone out into the garden.
"Someone's at home, evidently," muttered the Inspector. "Take us on as far as the end of the paling and pull up there. I'd like to know exactly how the land lies before we start work."
Contenting himself with a nod, Colin continued his way along the fence until he suddenly arrived at a closed gate leading into a ploughed field, from which an untrimmed hedge ran up at right angles, forming the boundary of the adjoining property. There was a piece of level grass at the side of the road, and, guiding the car on to this, he stopped the engine, and then, bending forward, switched off the headlights.
"You and Bates stay here for a moment," whispered Marsden. "Keep still and don't talk to each other. I'm just going along to have a squint through the hedge."