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150 it suggests a line of action to me. I must make some inquiries into the matter."

"Well, you set old lawyer Sneerly on the scent, and you'll see some fun. He'd like nothing better than to get his knife into that gang, and would have done it on his own before this, only he's got no money."

The three enjoyed lunch together, then the two farmers rode off in company to their homes. Stranleigh, a good cigar in his mouth, strolled along the main street towards the west end of the town; a portion of the place that was new to him. Women that he met curtsied to him in the old-fashioned way, and men took off their caps, salutations which the young man returned affably, beginning to realise that, in spite of what had happened, he was the chief frog in this particular puddle. Respect for rank is slow to die out in rural England, and it was because of his social position rather than for his wealth that these strangers were so courteous to him. At the western limit of the village he came to a standstill, and viewed with admiration a fine old manor house, standing far back from the street in its own well-timbered grounds.

"By Jove!" he said, "Tudor of the best period, and a good example. I wonder I've never seen a picture of this place now that they are photographing everything. H—m, I must visit it,