“By opening the door with it myself. You know that room wasn’t meant for a permanent office when it was first enclosed. The whole partition is more or less shaky.”
“I don’t see that that helps you much. You have no evidence against any particular person.”
“The evidence will come in time. That’s what I’m waiting for.”
“Where from, I’d like to know?”
“Perhaps from Eddy. He must know more than he’s told. He certainly lied to Grim and Moore.”
“I don’t believe Bosworth would trust anything to a little fool like him,” said Dick. “Eddy apparently told Bosworth the combination and then, when the news of the robbery came out, was too scared to acknowledge it. Having once lied, he would stick to it, because to such a little morally flabby idiot it would seem the easiest course.”
“And even if he confessed, it wouldn’t help matters,” went on Varrell, following out the argument, “for Bosworth would deny that he had paid any attention to what Eddy said, and there would be the end of it. No, we’ve got to get the information from Bosworth himself.”
“Are you going to tackle him with it outright?” demanded Dick, perplexed.
Varrell snorted in disgust.
“What a question! Of course I’m not. I’m going to wait, as I said before. This Bosworth lives in Cambridge. His mother keeps a boarding-house for students. He’s been thrown with these fellows, some of them probably fast men with plenty of money, who have patronized him and unintentionally filled his head with all sorts of wrong ideas. He’s learned to play poker and like fine clothes and spend money on himself and feel that to have money is to be happy and to be without it is to be wretched. Whatever he had left from the plunder of the safe he probably spent during the vacation. He told Marks of several things he’d done that must have taken money,—and he’ll soon be in need of more. This is an expensive term for those of us who have good allowances, with subscription duns and summer clothes to buy and all sorts of temptations to spend money. It will be harder for him, as he’ll come back without much cash, and will want to guzzle soda-water, and smoke, and perhaps try to worm himself into some society. I know such a fellow like a book. He’s got to have money, and he’ll get it dishonestly if he can’t honestly. His success with the safe will encourage him to something else.”