第34期:实地调查(4)

"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."