The inspector went away, but in the evening he called, saw Mr Barclay, and told him how a man lurking against the kitchen window had been captured, and explained that he must be a well-known and desperate thief because of the subtle means he had in his possession to overcome his captors.
“My servants have told me about it. But as they say the windows were fastened the man could not have committed a burglary,” replied Mr Barclay. “The house was quite in order this morning.”
“But it is evident that the fellow, whoever he was, meant mischief, sir.”
“Probably. But he didn’t succeed, which is fortunate for me!” the other laughed.
“Well, sir, have you anything particularly valuable on the premises here? If so, we’ll have special watch kept,” the inspector said.
“Nothing beyond the ordinary. I’ve got a safe down below—a very good one because the man who had this house before me was a diamond dealer, with offices in the City, and he often kept some of his stock here. Come and look at it.”
Both men went below, and Mr Barclay showed the inspector the heavy steel door.
The inspector examined the keyhole, but there were no traces of the lock having been tampered with. On the contrary, all was in such complete order that Mr Barclay did not even open the safe.
“It’s rather a pity the fellow got away,” Mr Barclay remarked.
“It is, sir—a thousand pities. But according to the description given of him by Barnes—who is one of the sharpest men in our division—we believe it to be a man named Hamilton Layton, a well-known burglar who works alone, and who has been many times convicted. A constable in Sunderland was attacked by him last winter in an almost identical manner.”