While the two men were thus conversing Chip and Sam were seated before an open window on the second floor of the house opposite the coal office. The city directory readily gave them the address of Wittrock's coalyard, and securing this room a constant watch had been kept on the spotted house.
Nothing suspicious had been noted during the day; customers had passed in and out, and Sam had even bought a half ton of coal which was carried to his room. The two men who ran the coalyard, whose names were found to be Weaver and Haight, were well spoken of in the neighborhood and did not look to be the sort of stuff out of which train robbers were manufactured.
While buying the coal Sam had purposely called Weaver "Mr. Wittrock."
"That isn't my name," said Weaver, "Me and my pardner bought out
Wittrock last October."
"Excuse me," said Sam; "I saw the name over the door and thought you were the gentleman."
"We don't like to pull down the sign. People know the yard by that name, an' we don't care, so long as they buy the coal."
This was said so frankly and openly that Sam almost believed it to be true. But the case was beginning to be too interesting to allow risks to be taken, so the detectives kept their long and tedious watch night and day. They had failed to see Cummings when he leaped from the car, for a team crossing the track had delayed the car long enough for him to get into the shadows on the other side of the street, so that the detectives little knew that the man they wanted was only just across the street from them.
They recognized Haight when he let himself in with a latch-key, but as this was not unusual, they thought little of it.
When Cummings left the coal office, he passed through the alley, and going south to Randolph street, returned to the hotel for the night.
The next day two of the Pinkerton force relieved Sam and Chip, who immediately went to their room at the Commercial Hotel, where they boarded.