His busy brain suddenly suffered the shock of a distinct conclusion.
So startling was the thought that he stopped abruptly in his walk and
uttered an exclamation of dismay. Was she a fellow-conspirator? Was
she the inside worker at Green Fancy in a well-laid plan to rifle the
place? She too was unmistakably a foreigner.
Could it be possible that she was the confederate of these painstaking
agents who lurked with sinister patience outside the very gates of the
place called Green Fancy?
In support of this theory was the supposition that O'Dowd may have
been perfectly sincere in his declarations over the telephone. Opposed
to it, however, was the absolute certainty that Roon and Paul were
waylaid and killed at widely separated points, and not while actively
employed in raiding the house. That was the rock over which all of his
theories stumbled.
His ramble carried him far beyond the spot where Roon's body was found
and where young Conley had come upon the tethered horses. His eager,
curious gaze swept the forest to the left of the road in search of
Green Fancy. Overcome by a rash, daring impulse, he climbed over the
stake and rider fence and sauntered among the big trees which so far
had obscured the house from view.
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