Billy was thus confirmed in
his earlier belief that the first strange gentleman was a house-breaker
badly wanted somewhere, and he now surmised that the newcomer must be a
detective on his trail. But a close watch on their meeting, a little
later in the evening, seemed to contradict this engaging hypothesis. The
second stranger emerged from the dining room, where he had been served
with supper, and as he shut the door of that banqueting hall, Billy,
standing by, heard him, too, call upon his Maker. He called only once,
but it was in a voice so full of feeling as to make Billy suspect that
he was remembering something unpleasant.
At this point the newcomer had glanced up to behold the first strange
gentleman, and Billy held his breath, expecting to witness a sensational
capture. To his unspeakable disgust the supposed sleuth grinned affably
at his supposed quarry and said: "Ah, Hyman! Is the stuff any good?"
"How did you find it out?" asked the first strange gentleman.
The other smiled winningly. "Why, I dropped into your place the other
day, and that beautiful daughter-in-law of yours mentioned incidentally
where you'd gone and what for. She's a good soul, Hyman, bright, and as
chatty as she can be.
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