on the piano, with the soft pedal down. His neglect of me seemed
wanton at the time. I have long realized that he was only wise to
maintain silence at the expense of perilous amenities, and as fully
justified in those secret and solitary sorties which made bad blood
in my veins. He was far cleverer than I at getting in and out; but
even had I been his match for stealth and wariness, my company
would have doubled every risk. I admit now that he treated me with
quite as much sympathy as common caution would permit. But at the
time I took it so badly as to plan a small revenge.

What with his flourishing beard and the increasing shabbiness of
the only suit he had brought with him to the house, there was no
denying that Raffles had now the advantage of a permanent disguise.
That was another of his excuses for leaving me as he did, and it
was the one I was determined to remove. On a morning, therefore,
when I awoke to find him flown again, I proceeded to execute a plan
which I had already matured in my mind. Colonel Crutchley was a
married man; there were no signs of children in the house; on the
other hand, there was much evidence that the wife was a woman of
fashion. Her dresses overflowed the wardrobe and her room; large,
flat, cardboard boxes were to be found in every corner of the upper
floors. She was a tall woman; I was not too tall a man. Like
Raffles, I had not shaved on Campden Hill. That morning, however,
I did my best with a very fair razor which the colonel had left
behind in my room; then I turned out the lady's wardrobe and the
cardboard boxes, and took my choice.

I have fair hair, and at the time it was rather long. With a pair
of Mrs. Crutchley's tongs and a discarded hair-net, I was able to
produce an almost immodest fringe. A big black hat with a wintry