Detectives, Inc.: A Mystery Story for Boys

by Herbert Strang

  THEFT IN THE RAIN

  Joe Morrow, very sleepy, grew conscious of voices coming up from theporch--the slow drawl of his uncle, Dr. David Stone, and a quicker,sharper voice. Abruptly the sharper tone scratched at his memory and thedrowsiness was gone. What was Harley Kent doing here? So far as he knewthe man had never visited the house before, and his uncle had never setfoot on the Kent place a quarter of a mile down the road. A word, starkand clear, came through the bedroom window. Robbery! And suddenly he wasout of bed and slipping into his clothes.

  The morning was cool and fresh after the heavy rain of the night. Hisuncle stood at the porch railing, sightless eyes turned off across thevalley, a great, tawny German shepherd dog at his side. Harley Kentcrowded the top step, and Joe noticed that the dog sneezed, and grewrestless, and drew back a step.

  "Lady, easy." Dr. Stone's hand felt for the dog's head and rubbed atwitching ear. "When did you say it was discovered, Kent?"

  "A little after six o'clock this morning. The maid found a window openand called me. The wall safe was open, too, and the necklace was gone.Could I trouble you for a match, Doctor? I've lost my lighter."

  The man stepped upon the porch, and the dog sneezed again and retreated.Dr. Stone brought forth matches, and Harley Kent had to come close to getthem. Joe was vaguely conscious that his uncle's face had become intent.

  Harley Kent lit a cigar. "I'm not in the habit of keeping jewels in thehouse. Mrs. Kent's been in Europe; her ship docks next Monday. We're toattend a dinner that night, and I knew she'd want the necklace. I took itout of a safe deposit box a week ago and brought it home."

  Dr. Stone asked a question. "Insured, of course?" "Certainly. Twenty-fivethousand."

  The boy sucked in his breath and wondered what twenty-five thousanddollars would look like piled up in shining half dollars. The Kentautomobile gleamed in front of the house, and a uniformed chauffeur satmotionless behind the wheel.

  "You've notified the police?"

  "I tried to, but the storm last night crippled our telephone line. I cameover to use yours."

  "Ours is out, too."

  Harley Kent made an impatient gesture. "That means I'll have to run intothe village." The cigar came out of his mouth. "It was an inside job,Doctor. Whoever robbed that safe knew how to get into it. It was openedby combination."

  Dr. Stone said coolly, "That's putting it on your own doorstep."

  Harley Kent shrugged. "Figure it out for yourself. There were only threeof us in the house--Donovan, the chauffeur, the maid, and myself. Twodays ago I forgot to take some papers to New York. I telephoned Donovanto bring them in. They were in the safe and I had to give him thecombination. Well, I'm off for the village. I understand you were apolice surgeon before----" The man coughed.

  "Yes," said Dr. Stone without emotion. "Before I lost my sight."

  "Well, if you'd like to run over and get the feel of a case again----"

  "It might be interesting," the doctor said slowly.

  Harley Kent went down the steps, a door slammed, and the car rolled away.Joe had a glimpse of the uniformed figure at the wheel, and spoke in ahoarse whisper:

  "Will Donovan be put in jail, Uncle David?"

  "Perhaps." The hand came up from the dog's head and tapped the porchrailing thoughtfully. "What time is it, Joe? About eight?"

  "Five after."

  "Two hours," Dr. Stone said as though speaking to himself. Abruptly hejerked his head. "Time we had breakfast," he added, and boy and dogfollowed at his heels. Here, in the home of his widowed sister that hadsheltered him for five years, he knew his way perfectly, and there wasnothing to mark him out as blind as he walked boldly toward the diningroom. And yet at the last moment, his handicap touched him withuncertainty. He had to put out his hand to make sure of the table andthen fumble for his chair.

  Joe wondered about jails, and was sorry for Donovan. Twice the man hadpicked him up on the road and carried him into the village, and once hehad spent a fascinating afternoon in the Kent garage holding tools whilethe chauffeur worked on the car. Did they lock a prisoner in a cell andkeep him there night and day?

  His mother's voice cut through his thoughts. "You're going over, David?"

  "I have a reason for wanting to go," the man said.

  Joe's heart throbbed. A reason for going. His throat was husky again."Right away, Uncle David? A policeman has to get there while the trail ishot, doesn't he?"

  "There are some trails," Dr. Stone said in his slow drawl, "that do notgrow cold."

  Out on the porch he filled a pipe and smoked quietly. Joe, watching thatlion head topped by crisp, unruly white hair, wondered if his uncle everbecame excited. He fidgeted and watched a clock; and by and by Dr. Stoneknocked the ashes from his pipe, stood up, and took a dog's harness downfrom a nail.

  The dog stretched its great body and held out its head. A stiff leashrose from either side of the harness and joined a wide, hard handle-gripat the top.

  "Lady, forward!"

  Slowly, protectingly, the massive animal took Dr. Stone down the stepsand along the concrete walk to the road.

  "Lady, right."

  Without hesitation the dog turned right, the tawny body pressed almostagainst the man's left leg. They were off now, and Dr. Stone's body bentslightly from the waist toward the dog, while his right hand lightlyswung a cane. He might have been gifted with sight, so rapidly did hewalk, so complete was his confidence in his four-footed guide. Joe had tostretch his legs to keep up with them. They went past fields andorchards, fences and tangles of wild grape. The doctor's cane, swingingalong, came in contact at last, with a wall of hedge.

  "Kent's place, Joe?"

  "Yes, sir." Joe's throat throbbed with a twitching pulse.

  A telephone repair truck was in the driveway. The dog slowed, and swungaside, pulling on the leash and changing his course. Without hesitationDr. Stone followed the pull, and the dog led him around and past thetruck. They appeared, in their movements, to be one.

  The boy said: "I like to watch him do that."

  "He's my eyes, Joe. Kent's car?"

  "No, sir; a telephone truck. I don't see his car."

  "Not back yet," said the doctor, and whistled soundlessly. They roamedthe grounds. The dog at a rapid pace, took the man along one side of thehouse and deftly manoeuvered him around every tree and bush. In the reara maid hung a sodden garment on the line and, after a frightened glanceat them, disappeared into the house. The wind blew across the valley andthe wet sleeve of a coat fluttered and swung toward Dr. Stone's face. Hereached out a groping hand, and found the sleeve, and brought it close tohis sightless eyes as though trying to pierce a veil of darkness and makeout the pattern. Bees droned through a blooming lilac and they movedaround to the other side of the house.

  "Joe, is there a pine tree on the place?"

  Pin pricks ran along the boy's spine. His uncle had never been herebefore--how did he know about the tree? "Yes, sir."

  "A large tree, heavy-branched?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Take me there. Lady, forward."

  The cane explored the trunk and then slowly tapped the ground.

  "About six feet from the house, Joe?"

  Joe blinked. "How do you know?"

  "Sound echoes," Dr. Stone chuckled. Automobile tires ground the gravel ofthe driveway.

  "It's Mr. Kent," said the boy.

  Harley Kent hurried up to them. "Is this village supposed to have apolice force?" he demanded. "Had to wait half an hour for Captain Tuckerto stroll back from breakfast. There could be a dozen murderscommitted----" He broke off. "Just a moment, Doctor, and I'll be withyou. It occurs to me I may have left that lighter in another suit----"

  "The maid hung one out to dry," Dr. Stone said.

  "Why, yes." Harley Kent stopped short. "That's it," he added, and wasgone. Presently he was back. "Not there. I suppose it will turn up someplace. Well, come in; come in. The police should be here before long."

  They mou
nted to the porch and Lady, after the manner of her breed whentrained to work with the blind, stopped with her head directly under theknob of the strange door.

  "A remarkable animal," Harley Kent said in admiration. "Well, here'swhere the job was done, Doctor."

  Joe was conscious of strange tremors. Lady, alert, cocked her head andsniffed the air with an inquiring nose. The doctor, halting in the archeddoorway leading from the hall, seemed to lose himself in thought.

  "There's a door to the left of this room, Kent?"

  "Yes; it leads into the dining room."

  "And windows in the wall facing this way. They're open now."

  Harley Kent gave a startled grunt. "Doctor, if I didn't know you wereblind----"

  "Air currents," Dr. Stone said laconically. "I feel them on my face. Youfeel them, too, but they go unnoticed. You rely on your eyes. The wallsafe, then, should be in the solid wall on the right. Correct, Kent?"

  "I don't understand it," Harley Kent said, still startled.

  The doctor asked an abrupt question. "How high is that safe from thefloor?"

  "Six feet, eight inches."

  "To work the combination without straining a short man would have tostand upon a chair."

  "Exactly, Doctor. None of the chairs was disturbed; none of the cushionstrampled. I checked that with the maid."

  Dr. Stone's face was impassive. "I gather that means something to you?"

  "What would it mean to you if I told you Donovan was a tall man?"

  The doctor's sightless eyes were fixed straight ahead as though he sawsomething that was denied to other men. "Does Donovan know he'ssuspected?"

  "He isn't quite a fool."

  A man passed quickly through the hall. Donovan! Joe instinctively steppedcloser to the dog. And suddenly, under his feet, the floor boards creakedwith a loud, harsh, dry protest.

  "Loose boards all over the room," Harley Kent explained. "I neverbothered to have them nailed down. With the safe in this room I lookedupon them as a burglar alarm. And yet, in the uproar of last night'sstorm, a cannon ball might have been rolled across the floor and nobodyupstairs would have heard it." His hands made a resigned gesture ofdefeat. "No matter how sound you think your plans are, you can never besure."

  "No," Dr. Stone said slowly, "there's always a slip."

  The telephone truck was gone, and now another car came up the drivewayand stopped with a squeal of brakes.

  "Captain Tucker has evidently finished his breakfast at last," HarleyKent said with bitter sarcasm. "He'll want to question Donovan. If youdon't mind, Doctor----"

  "Of course." The doctor took an uncertain step and paused. "I seem tohave lost my bearings, Kent. Would you give me your arm to the door?"

  Joe followed blankly. It was the first time he had ever known his uncleto lose a sense of direction once established. Behind those blind eyesthe room, in all its essentials, had been mapped. And even if itsoutlines had not been printed on a clear mind, the man had only to say,"Lady, out!" and the dog would have taken him to the door. Why takeHarley Kent's arm?

  Captain Tucker, on the porch, spoke a greeting and passed inside. Thedoor closed. Down at the end of the gravel where the driveway met theroad, Joe instinctively turned toward home. But Dr. Stone said, "Lady,right!" and was off toward the village at that amazingly rapid pace.

  "I'm after pipe tobacco, Joe."

  The boy's shorter legs beat a rapid tattoo on the dirt road. "I boughtyou some yesterday, Uncle David."

  "An extra tin won't go to waste," the man said casually.

  Hedge and brush were full of fascinating odors that invited sniffingexamination. But the shepherd dog, as though aware that the man whogripped the handle was in her keeping, went ahead with single-mindedpurpose. The dirt road became a paved street and they were in the town.Lady guided her charge toward the sidewalk, came to a cautious halt atthe curb and waited for her command.

  A voice called: "Dr. Stone! Dr. Stone!"

  Joe saw that it was Tom Bloodgood, the jeweler. They waited, and Lady satdown on her haunches, watchful and alert.

  "Heard about the robbery out your way, Doctor?"

  "Yes."

  "That's something I'd never expect to happen. I can't understand how aburglar could have got across that room without waking the dead. The waythat floor creaked----"

  "Kent says the storm drowned all other noise." The doctor's mouth hadgrown hard at the corners. "I didn't know you and Kent were on visitingterms."

  "We're not."

  "But if you knew about those floor boards----"

  "Oh! That was a business call--the only time I was in the house. He sentfor me last Wednesday----"

  The voice stopped, and Joe found the jeweler's eyes resting on himmeaningly. Flushing, the boy took himself out of earshot and pretended tobe absorbed in a store window. Presently his uncle called to him, andthey went down the street to Stevenson's shop, and Joe saw that the tightlines around the man's mouth had showed much deeper.

  Back on the street the blind man was silent, and walked with quick stepsbeside the dog. Half way home a cloud of dust rode toward them, andCaptain Tucker's car came out of the dust. The car stopped.

  "So you didn't arrest Donovan," said the doctor.

  The police officer leaned across the wheel. "Joe must have told you he'snot in the car."

  "Nobody had to tell me," Dr. Stone said mildly. "Captain Tucker, with ajewel thief in charge, would not be likely to stop for a chat with afriend. You didn't arrest Donovan?"

  "N--no. Even though you're reasonably sure a man's guilty, you can'tarrest him for robbery unless you have at least some proof. There is noproof--there's nothing. And he has an alibi. He and the maid have theirrooms in the same wing of the house. She says she couldn't sleep lastnight, and sat up and read with her door partly open. She insists Donovancouldn't pass that door without being seen or heard. If the maid'stelling the truth, Donovan couldn't be the thief; if she isn't tellingthe truth, they're both in it. Anyway, if we do arrest Donovan, whatabout the necklace? If possible we want to recover that."

  "But you think Donovan did it?"

  "Well, Doctor, let's give it a look. She admits she never sat up allnight reading before. She can't recollect ever leaving her door openbefore. Now, why did both those things have to happen last night when thesafe was robbed?"

  "It sounds rather convenient," Dr. Stone said.

  "Too convenient. Too perfect. My idea is that Donovan did the job and themaid is hiding him. I can figure it all out, but I can't pin it on them.That girl's too slick for me. I'm going to call in State troopers. Maybethey'll be able to break down her story."

  The car was gone with a whine of gears, and Joe stretched his legs andfollowed his uncle and the dog. Harley Kent's car stood in the driveway.

  "We're at the Kent place, Uncle David."

  "I know."

  "Are we going in?"

  "Sometimes," the doctor said cryptically, "it is best to leave a plumhang until it falls." The cane made a brisk gesture. "Tonight, Joe."

  To the boy the night was a long way off. A crime had been committed inthe neighborhood, almost under their noses, and the scene of the crimedrew him with an excited, morbid curiosity. Late in the afternoon hewalked back to the Kent place and loitered outside the hedge. He wasthere when a car drove in and two State troopers got out. Lean and trimin their belted uniforms, they looked competent and formidable; and hiseyes, fascinated, clung to the bulges at their hips. An hour later theycame out of the house, and Donovan was with them. The chauffeur was stillwith them when the car rolled away.

  Joe ran for home. "Uncle David! They've arrested Donovan."

  "Tucker?"

  "No; State troopers. I saw them take him away."

  "I expected it," Dr. Stone said mildly. Joe, watching him, was presentlyaware that he slept peacefully in the depths of the porch chair. So canthe blind, shut out from the light of the world, in turn shut out theworld and drop off into almost instant slumber.

  But at sup
per time the man was vividly awake. The strong, supple handsthat had made him a surgeon, were suddenly restless and nervous.

  "Joe," he said, "change those hard leather shoes to soft sneakers.Leather soles make too much noise."

  The order had a sound of mystery and adventure. Joe raced upstairs to hisroom. When he came down the day was gone and darkness lay over thecountryside. Lady was already harnessed. Out in the road the boy held tohis uncle's arm and hurried along. Here, walking into a wall of night, hewould by himself have to go slowly. But to his uncle the night presentedno change, nor did it bring up any new handicap. For to Dr. Stone theworld was always dark and black. There was no day or night.

  Kent's car was gone from the driveway. Dr. Stone said: "Easy, Joe; walkon the grass. Any lights?"

  "Only in the back."

  It seemed to the boy that his uncle made a sound of satisfaction. Thedog, as though sensing the man's desire for caution, led them slowly,silently. Dr. Stone's cane touched the tree.

  "Lady!" His voice was low.

  The dog was all attention.

  "Lady, search. Fetch."

  Joe was conscious of the black bulk of the house, a black tower that wasthe tree, and a blurred shadow moving noiselessly in the grass. Minutespassed, and his heart pounded in his chest. One moment the dog was nearhim, and the next it was gone. And then the shadow stood motionlessbeside his uncle.

  "Lady, again," Dr. Stone urged. "Search. Fetch."

  For what? Joe racked his brain and tried to find an answer. Once he heardthe soft sniff of the dog, but could not see it. Suddenly it was besidehis uncle again, motionless as before. How long it had been there he didnot know.

  "We'll go to the house now," Dr. Stone said.

  They crossed to the porch and rang the bell. The living room was all atonce alight, and Harley Kent opened the door.

  "I thought you might be along, Doctor. Come in; come in. It looks asthough we've cleared this thing up."

  "Then the necklace was recovered?" Dr. Stone asked.

  "No--not exactly. They'll sweat Donovan and make him come through. Theytook him away this afternoon."

  "So I heard," the doctor said without emotion. "Under arrest?"

  "Technically, no. They took him down for questioning, but--you know howthose things are worked. Keep after him until he opens up and then bookhim. The maid slipped."

  "The maid?"

  "Yes. They dragged it out of her a little at a time. Donovan wanted herto marry him. Yesterday he urged her to marry him and leave for the Westat once. That sounded suspicious, Doctor. With so many now out of work,why should a man marry and at once throw up his job? To do this he'd haveto have quite a bit of money--and Donovan didn't have any. Or else he'dhave to know how he could raise money very quickly. Get it?"

  "Perfectly."

  "So we sent out the maid and brought in Donovan. He had a smug answer tothe reason for that trip to the West. A friend owned a taxi company in awestern city and wanted him to come on and take the job of manager."

  "He had this friend's letter, of course?"

  Harley Kent laughed. "You're not as easily fooled as that, Doctor? Ofcourse not. Said he had lost it. So the troopers took him away."

  "That's that," Dr. Stone said after a silence.

  "Exactly. And a lucky thing the girl talked. Up to that point we hadnothing. No finger prints, no sign as to how the window had been forced,no sign of the necklace. Nothing but an open window and an open safe. Itwas as though a bird had flown in and had flown off with the jewels."

  "A bird," Dr. Stone said slowly, and tapped his cane against the floor."Nobody thought of that seriously though?"

  "A bird?" Harley Kent stared.

  To Joe's amazement, his uncle appeared in earnest. "Because if they hadtaken a bird seriously the next step----"

  "The next step what?" Harley Kent demanded sharply.

  The cane had ceased to tap the floor. "The next step," Dr. Stone saidsoftly, "would be to look where a bird would naturally fly with such abauble."

  Something electric, something unsaid, hung in the air, and Joe shook witha strange chill. Whatever that something was, it spoke to Lady. The doggrew restless and growled in its throat.

  "I think we'll be going, Kent," said the doctor.

  "Good night," said Harley Kent.

  Joe clung to his uncle's arm and swallowed with difficulty. A hundredfeet down the road the man halted.

  "Can you see the house from here?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Tell me when the downstairs lights go out." The man found his pipe andstruck a match to the bowl.

  A whippoorwill called musically through the night, and distance softenedthe hoot of an owl. Frogs croaked in a meadow and a rabbit stirred in thebrush. Joe shifted from foot to foot, and wondered what was to come next.Twice cars passed them going into town, and off over the hill a doghowled. And then, without warning, the oblongs of downstairs windowsdisappeared and the roof was a dark patch against the sky.

  "The lights are out," the boy whispered.

  Dr. Stone put away the pipe. "Joe, you'd better run home."

  The boy had not expected this. "But----"

  "Sorry, Joe. I can handle this better alone. You might only be in theway. Run along, and I'll tell you all about it in the morning."

  "But if----"

  "No ifs. Lady's here, and I'll be perfectly all right. Off, now."

  Without another word the boy trudged away. Once he looked back, and couldjust distinguish his uncle's form. Again he looked back, and man and dogwere gone. His steps slowed and ceased. He stood listening.

  The whippoorwill had ceased to call, and only the chorus of frogs brokethe stillness of the night. By and by he moved again, back the way he hadcome. The sneaks made his progress almost soundless. Had Uncle David toldhim to wear them so that they could go unnoticed to the pine tree? Whythe tree?

  Man and dog were gone from where he had left them. The tree lingered inhis mind. Avoiding the driveway he crept across the grass. A dark pillar,darker than the night, loomed ahead. It was the tree. He dropped to theground and, hugging his knees, sat there and was almost afraid tobreathe.

  There was no moon, and the gloom was filled with subtle alarms. Donovanwas probably in a cell, caged and helpless. What would happen to themaid? And why that intangible something that had hung between Uncle Davidand Harley Kent? He grew cramped and shifted his position. It must belate. Where was his uncle? He strained his eyes toward the tree but couldsee nothing.

  Suddenly every faculty was sharpened and drawn tight. He thought he hadheard a sound. Slowly he relaxed. It must have been the wind. And then heheard it again. This time there could be no mistake. There had been asubdued, almost indistinct scraping.

  Silence again, and darkness, and that vague alarm. The silence grewpainful. A leaf, fluttering down, touched his face and a chill ranthrough his bones. Why should a leaf fall from a tree in early spring?And then the stillness was broken by a ringing call:

  "Kent, it's no go."

  A voice strangled and strained, came down out of the tree. "Who the devilare you?"

  "Dr. Stone. You can't get away with it, Kent. Tell them any story youlike, but be sure you have Donovan released at once. Lady, home!"

  Man and dog emerged out of the night, and Joe flattened out and huggedthe ground.

  "Come along, Joe," the doctor said.

  The boy stood up, abashed, and took his uncle's arm. "How did you know Iwas there?"

  "Ears--a blind man's ears. When you came in Lady remained quiet. Thatmeant she recognized someone she trusted. There could be only oneanswer--you. Do you realize you might have ruined everything? That's whyI sent you home. One suspicious sound from outside the house and ourquarry might have taken alarm."

  Joe wet his lips. "It was Mr. Kent?"

  "Of course. Donovan? I had my doubts from the start. Kent told a smoothstory. He had had to give Donovan the combination, and the safe had beenopened by combination. It was a tall man's safe, and Don
ovan was a tallman. It fitted together perfectly, Joe--too perfectly. Remember when Iasked Kent to lead me to the door? I wanted to learn something--and Ilearned it. Kent is a tall man, too. I might have asked you, but to a boyall men seem tall."

  "The maid's story was perfect, too," Joe said hesitatingly.

  "Two perfect stories," Dr. Stone agreed. "It became a matter of pickingthe true from the false, and Kent rang false from the start."

  "I don't understand, Uncle David."

  "Let's analyze it. When Kent came to the house Lady sneezed and drewaway. Two weeks ago I upset a bottle of bay rum; it ran into her eyes andnose. She's been shy of bay rum since. When Kent said he'd lost hislighter and asked for a match he reeked with bay rum and talcum. The maidhad awakened him at six o'clock, and he reached our house at eight. Twostriking facts, Joe. Does a man, finding his house robbed in the night,calmly go upstairs and make a careful toilet? Does he wait two hoursbefore going to a telephone to call the police?

  "Well, we went to his place. He wasn't home, and we wandered about thegrounds. That was pure luck. We found the wet suit. I asked you if therewas a pine tree on the place."

  "Why, Uncle David?"

  "Because that suit reeked with pine. We found that the tree was only sixfeet from the house and heavy-branched, which meant that some of thebranches grew close to the house. And so now we had a robbery in therain, a pine tree, and a dripping suit of Harley Kent's that reeked withpine. The facts were all unrelated, but I began to wonder if the tree hadplayed a part in the robbery.

  "Then Kent came back, and his first thought was to look in the wet suitfor the missing lighter. When I mentioned the suit on the line he saidnothing to indicate alarm. But a blind man's ears are sharp. They arequick to catch shades of sound in a voice. I knew he was disturbedbecause we had chanced upon that suit. Now, why should he be upset? Wetclothing is not uncommon after a wild rainstorm.

  "We went to town for tobacco, and ran into Tom Bloodgood. That wasanother stroke of luck. For Bloodgood told me Kent had called him to thehouse to value a necklace. The jewelry market has fallen this last year,and Tom gave Kent a valuation of about $15,000. The moment Bloodgood toldme that I thought I saw the picture.

  "Kent's a market speculator. Evidently he had been hit and needed money.Apparently he didn't want to have the necklace appraised in New Yorkwhere he was fairly well known--such things leak out and sometimes affecta man's credit. After he learned what the necklace would bring in themarket he must have done some thinking. If he sold it, he'd realize$15,000. If it were stolen he'd collect $25,000 from the insurancecompany. The reason he had shaved and waited two hours to call the policetook on significance. It began to look as though Kent had staged aconvenient robbery. Collect for the jewels and still have them. Later hemight break up the necklace and sell the pearls separately. It's beendone before."

  "Why didn't you tell Captain Tucker, Uncle David?"

  "Oh, no. Tucker would have immediately searched the tree, and Kent couldhave got the incriminating suit out of the way and made the charge thatDonovan had hidden the necklace in the pine. There was only one way.Scare Kent. Send him out into the tree in a panic. And then catch him inthe act.

  "So tonight we called upon Kent. I was searching for a way to alarm him,and he opened the door himself by mentioning birds. The moment I spoke ofa search of a tree he froze. After that it was merely a matter of waitingfor him to come forth to remove the proof of his guilt."

  They were almost at Joe's house. The boy turned a puzzled thought in hismind.

  "But, Uncle David----"

  "Yes."

  "Even if there was pine on his coat it wouldn't be proof he'd been in apine tree."

  "True," Dr. Stone agreed. "That's what sent me searching for the absoluteproof."

  Light broke upon the boy. "I see it now. You found something?"

  "This." The man held out his hand.

  In the darkness the boy could not see what lay in the hand. "What is it,Uncle David?"

  "The missing cigar lighter," Dr. Stone said quietly. "It fell out ofKent's pocket while he was hiding the jewels. Lady found it for me underthe tree."