He couldn't make enough noise with his feet."
"You followed him up here?"
"Yes," with a little grin.
"Why did you do that?"
"Well, I wanted to see if it was all right--his coming in here."
"Very commendable," smiled Nestor. "Do you think he would have attracted
attention to himself by whistling if he had had no business here?"
"Anyway," observed Jimmie, "I followed him up. Wish I hadn't, and wish
you wouldn't hop onto me so."
"Do you think he was in these room before he whistled on the stairs?"
was the next question. "That is, in the rooms within a couple of
hours of the time you heard him coming up the stairs?"
"No; I don't think he was. I heard him whistling down at the bottom.
There was a light in this room then, and it was put out; or it might
have been put out just before I heard him whistling."
"How long was he in here before you came in?" was asked.
"Oh, about half a minute, I reckon."
"Not long enough to make all this muss with the papers?"
"Of course not. He couldn't do all this in half a minute."
"Then you think that if he did this at all he did it before he
whistled on the stairs. That he did it and went back, to indicate
that he had just entered the building?"
"That's just it, but I'm not sayin' he did it, mind you, Ned."
"Whoever did this took plenty of time for it," said Nestor, turning
to George. "Will you tell me where you spent the evening, and with
whom?"
Fremont told of the meeting of the Black Bear Patrol, of the plans
which had been made at the club-room, and of his parting with Frank
Shaw at the corner.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40