“Then I was being followed!”
“Gee, Biff. I thought so at first. But then this man turned into a side street before you reached the end of your walk.”
“How could you tell that, from inside that store?”
“Oh? Well, I stepped out on the sidewalk, so I could see better. Once you got down to the next block, I couldn’t see you through the window any more.”
Biff smiled. “I was being followed, all right, Li.”
“But how can you be sure? This man didn’t keep on following you.”
“You know why, Li? Because when you stepped out on the sidewalk, the man spotted you. He had seen you with me, and knew you had planted yourself in the store just to check and see if he was following me.”
Li’s face fell. “Gee, I’m some detective! Charlie Chan would box my ears, as he was always doing with No. 1. Son. I’m sorry, Biff.”
“Don’t let it get you down. Let’s go find out about boats.”
If Li had flunked his first detective test, he more than redeemed himself on his second.