"I know nothing about it, sir. Till now, I have not had the
slightest suspicion of this man. It occurred to me, this afternoon,
that it might be possible for anyone to hear what was said inside
the room, by listening at the windows; and that this shrubbery
would form a very good shelter for an eavesdropper. So I thought,
this evening I would take up my place here, to assure myself that
there was no traitor in the household. I had been here but five
minutes when the fellow stole quietly up, and placed his ear at the
opening of the casement, and you may be sure that I gave him no
time to listen to what was being said."

"Well, we had better go in," Sir Marmaduke said. "There is no fear
of our being overheard this evening.

"Charlie, do you take old Banks aside, and tell him what has
happened, and then go with him to the room where that fellow slept,
and make a thorough search of any clothes he may have left behind,
and of the room itself. Should you find any papers or documents,
you will, of course, bring them down to me."

But the closest search, by Charlie and the old butler, produced no
results. Not a scrap of paper of any kind was found, and Banks said
that he knew the man could neither read nor write.

The party below soon broke up, considerable uneasiness being felt,
by all, at the incident of the evening. When the last of them had
left, Charlie was sent for.

"Now, then, Charlie, let me hear how all this came about. I know
that all you said about what took place at the window is perfectly