"Funny business that fire," said the chauffeur, rubbing the bonnet of the car with a polishing cloth. "The master was properly upset about losing those valuable papers of his. And now they say it was a put-up job - some one did it on purpose! Well - Peeks did say that it was a wonder no one had given Mr. Hick a slap in the face for the way he treats everybody!"
"Who's Peeks?" said Larry, pricking up his ears.
"Peeks was his man-servant - sort of valet and secretary mixed," said the chauffeur. "He's gone now - went off the day of the fire."
"Why did he go?" asked Fatty innocently.
"Got kicked out!" said the chauffeur. "Mr. Hick gave him his money, and he went! My word, there was a fine old quarrel between them, too!"
"Whatever about?" said Larry.
"Well, it seehis that Mr. Hick found out that Peeks sometimes wore his clothes," said the chauffeur. "You see, he and the master were much of a size, and Peeks used to fancy himself a bit - I've seen him prance out in Mr. Hick's dark blue suit, and his blue tie with the red spots, and his gold-topped stick too!"
"Oh," said Fatty. "And I suppose when Mr. Hick found that out he was angry and told Peeks to go. Was Peeks very upset?"
"You bet he was!" said the chauffeur. "He came out to me, and the things he said about the master would make anybody's ears burn. Then off he went about eleven o'clock. His old mother lives in the next village, and I guess she was surprised to see Horace Peeks marching in, baggage and all, at that time of the morning!"
The two boys were each thinking the same thing. "It looks as if Peeks burnt the cottage! We must find Peeks and see what he was doing that evening!"