country is more deserted there.
And I say east, said my patient.
I am for west, remarked the plain-clothes man. There are several
quiet little villages up there.
And I am for north, said I, because there are no hills there, and
our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up any.
Come, cried the inspector, laughing; it s a very pretty diversity of
opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do you give your
casting vote to?
You are all wrong.
But we can t all be.
Oh, yes, you can. This is my point. He placed his finger in the
centre of the circle. This is where we shall find them.
But the twelve-mile drive? gasped Hatherley.
Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the horse
was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that if it had
gone twelve miles over heavy roads?
Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough, observed Bradstreet thoughtfully.
Of course there can be no doubt as to the nature of this gang.
None at all, said Holmes. They are coiners on a large scale, and
have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of
silver.
We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work, said the
inspector. They have been turning out half-crowns by the thousand. We
even traced them as far as Reading, but could get no farther, for they
had covered their traces in a way that showed that they were very old
hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance, I think that we have got
them right enough.
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