"
"All right; then we'll open your eyes. I guess you don't happen to know
who Mr. Lafferty here is, do you?"
"Not yet."
"Well, he's a central office detective." (Mr. Lafferty bore Larcher's
look of increased interest with becoming modesty.) "He's been on this
case ever since I came back from Chicago, and by a piece of dumb luck,
he got next to Davenport's trail for part of the day he was last seen.
He'll tell you how far he traced him. It's up to you now, Lafferty.
Speak out."
Mr. Lafferty, pretending to take as a good joke the attribution of his
discoveries to "dumb luck," promptly discoursed in a somewhat thick but
rapid voice.
"On the Wednesday morning he was las' seen, he left the house about nine
o'clock, with a package wrapt in brown paper. I lose sight of'm f'r a
couple 'f hours, but I pick'm up again a little before twelve. He's still
got the same package. He goes into a certain department store, and buys
a suit o' clothes in the clothin' department; shirts, socks, an'
underclothes in the gents' furnishin' department; a pair o' shoes in the
shoe department, an' s'mother things in other departments. These he has
all done up in wrappin'-paper, pays fur 'em, and leaves 'em to be called
fur later. He then goes an' has his lunch."
"Where does he have his lunch?" asked Bagley.
"Never mind where he has his lunch," said Mr. Lafferty, annoyed. "That's
got no bearin' on the case. After he has his lunch, he goes to a certain
big grocer's and provision dealer's, an' buys a lot o' canned meats and
various provisions,--I can give you a complete list if you want it.
Pages:
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119