"Whose brainy idea was that--yours or Bates's ?" "A joint effort," he said, with a self-satisfied smile.
"Well, I'm glad it didn't come off.

British law is a fearsome and wonderful thing.

You might both have got ten years for fixing a man-trap, to wit, a lethal engine.

However, during the next few days you're going to change your abode.

Tell Bates and his wife that they need a holiday, and ought to visit relatives in Yorkshire or North Wales.