Part 32 (1/2)
The colonel was thoroughly enjoying himself, for he had put aside, in the perusal of Walton, all thoughts of the murder and its many complications, when there came another interruption. This time it was a ring of his room telephone.
”There's a gentleman downstairs asking for you,” came the word in response to his answer to the summons.
”Who is it?
”Says I'm to tell you he's Mr. Young.”
”Oh, yes, Jack Young--send him up.” The colonel closed the book with a sigh of regret.
”No use trying to read Izaak now,” he murmured. ”It would be a sacrilege. I'll have to wait a bit. Wonder what Jack wants. Ah, come in!” he called, as a discreet knock sounded on the half-opened door.
”Trouble?”
”Not yet, Colonel, though there may be. Do you want me to follow King out of town?”
”Of course. Wherever he goes. Stick to him like a leech,” and the detective indicated a chair to his visitor. Jack Young was one of the Ashley Agency's most trusted lieutenants.
”I sent for you to have you shadow King,” said the detective in a low voice, seeing to it that the door was closed, ”because I think we can get something out of him.”
”Not a confession, surely!” exclaimed Young.
”Well, if he gets drunk enough, yes. But not the kind of confession that would be any use to us. What a man babbles when the wine is in and the wit is out, wouldn't be much use in a court of law. But if you can get him to tell anything about where he got that queer coin--the one that used to be in Mrs. Darcy's collection--so much to the good.
But be foxy about it, Jack.”
”I will! What I came to see about is whether you want me to follow him out of town. He's been cutting a pretty wide swath since he got out on bail, and he's been having some pretty sporty times.”
”And you've been with him; is that it?”
”To the best of my ability, yes,” admitted Jack, as he patted Chet, when the dog, that evidently had met him before, slid over to have his ears pulled.
”I have great faith in your ability, Jack. The point is to stick to King. You managed to make friends with him?”
”That wasn't hard. But I'll need a little money if I'm to keep up his pace. That's why I came to you.”
”Perfectly right, Jack. Mason so thoroughly believes in the innocence of Darcy, and he sticks by his daughter's engagement so well, that he'd supply twice as much cash as was necessary to sift this to the bottom.
So here's some to enable you to keep up to King's pace.”
”Of course it's none of my business, Colonel, but I'd like to know a little bit about how the wind blows. Do you really suspect him of the murder?”
”Jack, I don't know!” was the frank answer, as Chet went back to his place by the gas log. ”His having that odd coin was what put me on his trail again, and I sent for you to shadow him, as I had too many other irons in the fire. And you've done well. I guess there isn't much that Harry has done since that night about a week ago, when I saw him in the Homestead, that you don't know about.”
”I guess not, Colonel.”
”But, with it all, I'm not much nearer than I was at first.”
”How about Spotty?”
”He won't say a word.”
”You tried the third degree on him, of course?”