"What a time that fellow is gone!" he exclaimed gayly. "Perhaps I

had better go and get the book myself."
The two strangers had been gradually lessening the distance

between the doctor and themselves, ever since Screw had left the
room. The last words were barely out of his mouth, before they

both sprang upon him, and pinioned his arms with their hands.
"Steady, my fine fellow," said Mr. Manasseh's head agent. "It's

no go. We are Bow Street runners, and we've got you for coining."
"Not a doubt of it," said the doctor, with the most superb

coolness. "You needn't hold me. I'm not fool enough to resist
when I'm fairly caught."

"Wait till we've searched you; and then we'll talk about that,"
said the runner.*

The doctor submitted to the searching with the patience of a
martyr. No offensiveweapon being found in his pockets, they

allowed him to sit down unmolested in the nearest chair.
"Screw, I suppose?" said the doctor, looking inquiringly at the

officers.
"Exactly," said the principal man of the two. "We have been

secretly corresponding with him for weeks past. We have nabbed
the man who went out with him, and got him safe at Barkingham.

Don't expect Screw back with the ledger. As soon as he has made
sure that the rest of you are in the house, he is to fetch

another man or two of our Bow Street lot, who are waiting outside
till they hear from us. We only want an old man and a young one,

and a third pal of yours who is a gentleman born, to make a
regular clearance in the house. When we have once got you all, it

will be the prettiest capture that's ever been made since I was
in the force."

What the doctor answered to this I cannot say. Just as the
officer had done speaking, I heard footsteps approaching the room

in which I was listening. Was Screw looking for me? I instantly
closed the peephole and got behind the door. It opened back upon

me, and, sure enough, Screw entered cautiously" target="_blank" title="ad.小心地；谨慎地">cautiously.
An empty old wardrobe stood opposite the door. Evidently

suspecting that I might have taken the alarm and concealed myself
inside it, he approached it on tiptoe. On tiptoe also I followed

him; and, just as his hands were on the wardrobe door, my hands
were on his throat. He was a little man, and no match for me. I

easily and gently laid him on his back, in a voiceless and
half-suffocated state--throwing myself right over him, to keep

his legs quiet. When I saw his face getting black, and his small
eyes growing largely globular, I let go with one hand, crammed my

empty plaster of Paris bag, which lay close by, into his mouth,
tied it fast, secured his hands and feet, and then left him

perfectly harmless, while I took counsel with myself how best to
secure my own safety.

I should have made my escape at once; but for what I heard the
officer say about the men who were waiting outside. Were they

waiting near or at a distance? Were they on the watch at the
front or the back of the house? I thought it highly desirable to

give myself a chance of ascertaining their whereabouts from the
talk of the officers in the next room, before I risked the

possibility of running right into their clutches on the outer
side of the door.

I cautiously" target="_blank" title="ad.小心地；谨慎地">cautiously opened the peephole once more.
The doctor appeared to be still on the most friendly terms with

his vigilant guardians from Bow Street.
"Have you any objection to my ringing for some lunch, before we

are all taken off to London together?" I heard him ask in his
most cheerful tones. "A glass of wine and a bit of bread and

cheese won't do you any harm, gentlemen, if you are as hungry as
I am."

"If you want to eat and drink, order the victuals at once,"
replied one of the runners, sulkily. "We don't happen to want

anything ourselves."
"Sorry for it," said the doctor. "I have some of the best old

Madeira in England."
"Like enough," retorted the officer sarcastically. "But you see

we are not quite such fools as we look; and we have heard of such
a thing, in our time, as hocussed wine."

"O fie! fie!" exclaimed the doctor merrily. "Remember how well I
am behaving myself, and don't wound my feelings by suspecting me

of such shockingtreachery as that!"
He moved to a corner of the room behind him, and touched a knob

in the wall which I had never before observed. A bell rang
directly, which had a new tone in it to my ears.

"Too bad," said the doctor, turning round again to the runners;
"really too bad, gentlemen, to suspect me of that!"

Shaking his head deprecatingly, he moved back to the corner,
pulled aside something in the wall, disclosed the mouth of a pipe

which was a perfect novelty to me, and called down it.
"Moses!"

It was the first time I had heard that name in the house.
"Who is Moses?" inquired the officers both together, advancing on

him suspiciously.
"Only my servant," answered the doctor. He turned once more to

the pipe, and called down it:
"Bring up the Stilton Cheese, and a bottle of the Old Madeira."

The cheese we had in use at that time was of purely Dutch
extraction. I remembered Port, Sherry, and Claret in my palmy

dinner-days at the doctor's family-table; but certainly not Old
Madeira. Perhaps he selfishly kept his best wine and his choicest

cheese for his own consumption.
"Sam," said one of the runners to the other, "you look to our

civil friend here, and I'll grab Moses when he brings up the
lunch."

"Would you like to see what the operation of coining is, while my
man is getting the lunch ready?" said the doctor. "It may be of

use to me at the trial, if you can testify that I afforded you
every facility for finding out anything you might want to know.

Only mention my politeanxiety to make things easy and
instructive from the very first, and I may get recommended to

mercy. See here--this queer-looking machine, gentlemen (from
which two of my men derive their nicknames), is what we call a

Mill-and-Screw."
He began to explain the machine with the manner and tone of a

lecturer at a scientificinstitution. In spite of themselves, the
officers burst out laughing. I looked round at Screw as the

doctor got deeper into his explanations. The traitor was rolling
his wicked eyes horribly at me. They presented so shocking a

sight, that I looked away again. What was I to do next? The
minutes were getting on, and I had not heard a word yet, through

the peephole, on the subject of the reserve of Bow Street runners
outside. Would it not be best to risk everything, and get away at

once by the back of the house?
Just as I had resolved on v enturing the worst, and making my

escape forthwith, I heard the officers interrupt the doctor's
lecture.

"Your lunch is a long time coming," said one of them.
"Moses is lazy," answered the doctor; "and the Madeira is in a

remote part of the cellar. Shall I ring again?"
"Hang your ringing again!" growled the runner, impatiently. "I

don't understand why our reserve men are not here yet. Suppose
you go and give them a whistle, Sam."

"I don't half like leaving you," returned Sam. "This learned