28th June, The missing dinner plate

"I....if'um someone had fallen on t' field and been looted.. they'd be dead....they'd not be goin' about stealin' plates.." He hesitated and lowered his gaze. "But..still don't know who it was that did it."

"You say you got this from a washerwoman? Did she tell you how she came by it, perchance?" Vickery asked. Knowing that might lead them a little closer to the thief.

"Didn't our new lieutenant say he had found it by the road and given it to her?", Torrington reminded him.

He shrugged.

"The dead soldier wouldn't be around to steal, but I think it not unconcievable that somebody who had stolen a coat would steal a plate as well. It requires quite a lot of arrogance to pull off something like this, but wearing the coat here would allow you to walk through the camp in relative safety."

"She was tole where to get it.. I think.. by t' new officer, aye." He did not remember exactly. But as far as he knew she had not gotten it from another soldier.

"Couldn' we look fer a soldier who's recently los' his uniform coat?.....or fer summon' whos' not having one at all?..Cos' ..why else go about running in a foreign coat?"

The engineer nodded encouragingly.

"We certainly can and should. We might also be able to narrow things down a bit further. The plate was only stolen late this morning, Lt. von Dornheim passed the spot where the jacket was not too long after that. So there is a rather limited timeframe in which the thief must have been able to slip away and put quite a bit of distance between himself and the camp."

"Unless he is still with the camp, having used someone else's jacket as a disguise," Vickery pointed out sourly. It was not his plate that had been stolen, but he couldn't help feeling somewhat responsible because it had occurred within his part of the bivouac.

Pye remained silent though he doubted someone would go through all the trouble to steal someone's jacket, just so that they could steal a plate. Stealing something of this value was mostly work of an opportunity thief, rather than a thief that planned. Pye knew that as he often stole because one gentleman was just stupid at carrying his purse in such a way that it would have been a crime - in his opinion - not to snatch it from him, or when someone had left their valuables in such an open place and in such danger of being taken that, to not take them would have been improper.

The plate had been left in the open and someone came past and stole it. had they wanted to go for real valuables then Torrington would have found himself without more than just a small purse and a plate. Pye was convinced Torrington had more money somewhere and his spy glass was of great value, other tools of the trade as well! Maps themselves could go for pretty penny if the French were the buyers.

He could of course be wrong and the thief just totally overcompensating on his way of stealing or just being daft at what he meant to steal. There were all sorts of people and there were all sorts of thieves.

"...If t' officer spotted 'im on the way coming 'ere... wouldn't the man have gone in the direction from 'ere cos'.. well, why make all the trouble of walking out o' camp if he meant ter come nack? 's easier ter burry or jus' drop the coat where other like it are." Pye murmured quietly. "...oh..." He straightened again. "Not many'd gone in that direction.... right? I mean...." He waved his hands trying to explain what he meant. "...you's like riskin' ter pass a picket and.. well.. we's all in camp, about our business.. but if you's the only one going in t' opposite direction of others goin' about their business somebody's probably goin' ter see you no?.. Notice you, couse you ain't....well like.. like ..um.. t' army's doin' sumthin'.. but if you're not.. yer stand out like a sore thumb!" Or maybe that was a bad idea. He dropped his gaze quickly again.

"So... what I'm thinkin' is ..." He hesitated to see if the officers welcomed him thinking and then continued. "....ask t' picquets... an' ask whoever else was 'round here at the time. If somethin' was out of the ordinary, they'd notice it..." He hesitated and shrugged again. "...An'...if I may....is there ways we jus'..look in everybody's packs?" He did not want that particular option, because it was far from a favourable amongst many men. "....or.. ifn't you want, I'll inquire 'bout. Maybe if there's a small price fer it and no questions asked.. even t' culprit might want to come ter claim it. But atleast they'd be bringing the plate with'em." He straightened and then glanced from one officer to the other hoping that they would make up their mind fast. He bit his lip. He really looked impatient, if only because he wanted to go find that plate before it was too battered to be recognisable.