host's countenance. But the shade of the lamp intervened too
completely, and he had to be content to wait till the judge chose
to speak, which he presently did, though not in the exact tones
the Sergeant expected.

"Two men! Couldn't I have three? One for each gate and one to
patrol the fence separating these grounds from the adjoining lot?"

The sergeant hesitated; he felt an emotion of wonder--a sense of
something more nearly approaching the uncanny than was usual to
his matter-of-fact mind. He had heard, often enough, what store
the judge set on his privacy and of the extraordinary measures he
had taken to insure it, but that a man, even if he aped the
hermit, should consider three men necessary to hold the public
away from a two hundred and fifty foot lot argued apprehensions of
a character verging on the ridiculous. But he refrained from
expressing his surprise and replied, after a minute of thought:

"If two men are not enough to ensure you a quiet sleep, you shall
have three or four or even more, Judge Ostrander. Do you want one
of them to stay inside? That might do the business better than a
dozen out."

"No. While Bela lies above ground, we want no third here. When he
is buried, I may call upon you for a special to watch my room
door. But it's of outside protection we're talking now. Only, who
is to protect me against your men?"

"What do you mean by that, your honour?"