“I thought first that was Ned’s writing,” he said as he looked where his chum, but a few hours before had written “Thomas Seldon.”
“Friend of yours?” asked the clerk quickly.
“I thought first it looked like the writing of a chum of mine,” Bart replied. “But it’s different I see.”
“Guess that chap doesn’t travel in your company,” the clerk went on, as the other boys put down their names.
“Why?”
“Oh, he’s a crook I guess,” and he told of the discovery of Ned’s escape down the rope. “He hasn’t done anything as far as we can learn,” the clerk went on, “but his getting out that way showed there was something wrong, though he was honest enough to leave a dollar for his room, which he didn’t occupy. However, the police would like to get him just to see why he was in such a hurry to get away.
“Funny thing, too,” the clerk continued. “He left his valise behind him. He must have lowered it out of the window by the rope, or else he threw it out. Anyway, just before we found out that he had gone, our chef went out in the back yard for a breath of air. He saw the valise lying on the ground, but didn’t take notice of the rope. He brought the satchel in and gave it to me. I was talking to a detective at the desk, one who comes in here every once in a while to see if there are any suspicious characters. I was telling him about this Seldon lad, just as the cook handed me the grip. I recognized it as the one the boy had when he came in, and got suspicious. We went to his room, but he had skipped. We’ve got the valise yet, but haven’t opened it. The police may in a few days.”
The boys slept soundly that night. They awoke in the morning to find a heavy snow storm in progress. They spent the day going from one place to another, following the advice they got at the office of the chief of police. But all to no purpose. There was no trace of Ned. They were out almost all day in the storm, which continued to get worse as night approached.
“There’s one thing we forgot,” said Frank, as they prepared to go back to the hotel for the night.
“What?” asked Fenn.