So soon as the issue was decided, the stout man made Mr. Ledbetter
take off his coat and roll up his shirt-sleeves, and, with the revolver
at one ear, proceed with the packing his appearance had interrupted.
From the stout man's point of view that was evidently the only
possible arrangement, for if he had packed, he would have had
to put down the revolver. So that even the gold on the table was
handled by Mr. Ledbetter. This nocturnal packing was peculiar.
The stout man's idea was evidently to distribute the weight of
the gold as unostentatiously as possible through his luggage. It was
by no means an inconsiderable weight. There was, Mr. Ledbetter says,
altogether nearly L18,000 in gold in the black bag and on the table.
There were also many little rolls of L5 bank-notes. Each rouleau
of L25 was wrapped by Mr. Ledbetter in paper. These rouleaux were
then put neatly in cigar boxes and distributed between a travelling
trunk, a Gladstone bag, and a hatbox. About L600 went in a tobacco
tin in a dressing-bag. L10 in gold and a number of L5 notes the stout
man pocketed. Occasionally he objurgated Mr. Ledbetter's clumsiness,
and urged him to hurry, and several times he appealed to Mr.
Ledbetter's watch for information.

Mr. Ledbetter strapped the trunk and bag, and returned the stout man
the keys. It was then ten minutes to twelve, and until the stroke of
midnight the stout man made him sit on the Gladstone bag, while he
sat at a reasonably safe distance on the trunk and held the revolver
handy and waited. He appeared to be now in a less aggressive mood,
and having watched Mr. Ledbetter for some time, he offered a few
remarks.

"From your accent I judge you are a man of some education," he said,