blather

'Tell your governor that Blathers and Duff is here, will you?' said the stouter man, smoothing down his hair, and laying a pair of handcuffs on the table.

'Now, with regard to this here robbery, master,' said Blathers.

Blathers and Duff looked very knowing meanwhile, and occasionally exchanged a nod.

'I can't say, for certain, till I see the work, of course,' said Blathers; 'but my opinion at once is,--I don't mind committing myself to that extent,--that this wasn't done by a yokel; eh, Duff?'

'That's it, master,' replied Blathers. 'This is all about the robbery, is it?'

'Now, what is this, about this here boy that the servants are a-talking on?' said Blathers.

'What he says is quite correct,' observed Blathers, nodding his head in a confirmatory way, and playing carelessly with the handcuffs, as if they were a pair of castanets.

Blathers. 'We had better inspect the premises first, and examine the servants afterwards.

Blathers and Duff, attended by the native constable, Brittles, Giles, and everybody else in short, went into the little room at the end of the passage and looked out at the window; and afterwards went round by way of the lawn, and looked in at the window; and after that, had a candle handed out to inspect the shutter with; and after that, a lantern to trace the footsteps with; and after that, a pitchfork to poke the bushes with.

'Well, master,' said Blathers, entering the room followed by his colleague, and making the door fast, before he said any more.

'We call it a put-up robbery, ladies,' said Blathers, turning to them, as if he pitied their ignorance, but had a contempt for the doctor's, 'when the servants is in it.'

'Wery likely not, ma'am,' replied Blathers; 'but they might have been in it, for all that.'