Lady Dain sighed.
'Are you going to town early?' she inquired.
'Yes,' he replied. 'I'm on the rota today.'
He was chairman of the borough Bench of magistrates. As he drove
into town he revolved his scheme and thought it wild and
dangerous, but still feasible.
II
On the Bench that morning Sir Jee shocked Mr Sherratt, the
magistrates' clerk, and he utterly disgusted Mr Bourne,
superintendent of the borough police. (I do not intend to name the
name of the borough--whether Bursley, Hanbridge, Knype, Longshaw,
or Turnhill. The inhabitants of the Five Towns will know without
being told; the rest of the world has no right to know.) There had
recently occurred a somewhat thrilling series of burglaries in the
district, and the burglars (a gang of them was presumed) had
escaped the solicitous attentions of the police. But on the
previous afternoon an underling of Mr Bourne's had caught a man
who was generally believed to be wholly or partly responsible for
the burglaries. The Five Towns breathed with relief and
congratulated Mr Bourne; and Mr Bourne was well pleased with
himself. The Staffordshire Signal headed the item of news, 'Smart
Capture of a Supposed Burglar'. The supposed burglar gave his name
as William Smith, and otherwise behaved in an extremely suspicious
manner.
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