“Quite easily, of course,” Lausch answered seriously. “Even the imperfections—the tiny roughnesses in the design, owing to the poor tools of the period—could be perfectly reproduced by means of a plaster cast. It would take a little ingenuity, perhaps, and patience. But it would be by no means impossible or even very difficult.” He leaned back in his chair. “Does that satisfy you?” he asked.
Sandy, obviously enjoying himself, answered him. “Oh, perfectly,” he said. “It all fits in perfectly with a little old theory Ken had whipped up.” He dropped a heavy hand on Ken’s shoulder in mock congratulation. “Doesn’t it, Ken, old boy?”
CHAPTER VIII
A PACKAGE CHANGES HANDS
“Must handle this with great care,” Sandy said a little later as the boys let themselves into the Holt apartment. He deposited Mom’s jewel box on a table and patted it gently. “Valuable antique—very valuable. Worth almost a dime a dozen. Unless, of course,” he added, cocking his head on one side and studying the box intently, “it is instead an ingenious copy of a valuable antique, made by some nefarious criminal.”
“Go right ahead. Enjoy yourself,” Ken told him, slumping into a chair without bothering to remove his overcoat.
Sandy swung around to grin at him. “You can’t blame me, can you? When a mastermind like yourself gets really tangled up in his own theories—when he is knocked out by the weight of his own genius—Now where are you going?” he demanded as Ken got up and started toward the boys’ bedroom in the rear of the apartment. Sandy followed him.
“It doesn’t concern you,” Ken told him. “And it’s got nothing to do with the box.” He began to change into a pair of tweed slacks and a flannel shirt. “I was obviously way off the beam about that. You were probably mistaken about the weight of it the first time, and if we accept that, then there’s no reason to think there’s anything fishy about the box at all.”
“You haven’t answered my question.” Sandy, entirely serious now, sat down on the edge of the bed. “What’s the idea of changing your clothes? Where are you going?”