At last it was Mr Cantor's turn, and when he had thanked them all for their stories he explained that sheep stealing had been going on in all parts of the country during the long winter nights. It had started very cleverly in a small way and in so many different districts that it was some time before the police realized that the thefts were organized. Always it seemed that the sheep were moved to another part of the country as soon as possible where they would be sold for slaughter in the black market.

"We've got most of 'em now," he said, "and you'll all be glad to know that the ringleader is now behind lock and key. We haven't found out yet how they got Grey Walls, but it was the ideal place for a headquarters. I think most of you realized that for some odd reason the very lie of the country round it makes it invisible from the side we know except from the spinney... By the way, none of you have asked me if the fire is out? Yes - it is. It burned itself out last night when it reached the level ground down by the house, but I'll tell you more about that in a minute.

"The dyke of course was an ideal hiding-place for sheep. It seems the farmers round here do know it, but never seem to take much interest in it, and I don't believe one of them would have thought of searching it. This morning my men found four more hidden pens for stolen sheep in two miles of ditch. I'm not sure why it was considered necessary to make that tunnel under the walls, but maybe it existed before this chap got hold of the house and he had the sense to use it. We think sheep stolen in the day were hidden in the dyke till dusk and then driven into the pens at Grey Walls in the dark. Sometimes the farmers' marks would be changed or obliterated before they were driven out again in the van... By the way, Peter, they seem to have had only one van operating from here, but we've discovered that they changed its colour and the name of its supposed owner by fitting false sides.