The Saint Meets His Match (She was a Lady)

"It's a cop," he said, between breaths that came in labouring gasps. "But it wasn't my idea. It was a bloke I met this morning in Seven Dials. 'E told me there was a man 'e wanted beaten up, name of Essenden. Is one of you gents Mr. Essenden?"

"Go on," growled Harver.

"There was a lot of money for it, and 'e said there wasn't no risk. I'd just got to open a winder on the ground floor, an' get in. 'E told me where the alarms was, an' 'e drew me a plan of the 'ouse, an' 'e marked the bedroom, an' 'e says, 'You just go in that room and slosh 'im one, an' I'll be waitin' for yer at the Lodge gates wiv a car to tyke yer back to London.' "

"He said he'd be waiting at the Lodge gates with a car?"

Albert George swallowed.

"Yus. What's the time? 'E said 'e'd be there at ten o'clock."

"What was this man's name?"

"I dunno. 'E was a toff. All dressed up, 'e was, like 'im." He pointed to Flash Arne.

"Was there anyone with him?"

"Yus. There was a woman with 'im. She was a toff, too. She'll be in the car, too—she said she would."

Ganning took his hand away from his hip pocket.

"Well, that ought to be easy," he said. He looked at Essenden. "Guess we'd better go down and fetch them in."

Essenden nodded. He could hardly believe his good fortune.

"You'd better all go," he said. "They may be armed. Here, tie this man up first."

He took a length of cord out of a drawer and brought it over. Harver seized the prisoner's arms and twisted them roughly behind him. Keld performed the roping with a practised hand. The prisoner was then dropped in­to a corner like a sack of coals.

"He won't get out of that in a hurry," said Matt Keld.

Ganning hitched himself round the table.

"C'mon," he said.

The four men trailed out through the French windows.

Lord Essenden, left alone, went and helped himself again from the decanter. This time it seemed that Fate had played right into his hand. Jill Trelawney was clever —he admitted that—but, for once, he had been cleverer. He gazed contemplatively at the unkempt figure which lay huddled in the corner, just where it had been dropped. It struck him that the Saint had showed an astounding lack of discrimination in sending such a man to "slosh him one."