“I—I was looking for a friend,” faltered Sidney, his manner proclaiming the lie.
“What friend?”
“Oh—ah—Billings.”
“Billings? Well, I must say my room is a singular place to look for Billings! That gentleman never calls on me. It won’t go down, Gooch. How did you get into my room?”
“Why, I simply opened the door and walked in.”
“That is not true! The door was locked. I took pains to lock it when I went out, as there have been a number of fresh robberies in this building of late.”
“Perhaps you think you took pains to lock it, but you were mistaken. I found it unlocked.”
“You lie!” came hotly from the lips of Harry Rattleton. “I saw you unlocking the door with a key! I saw you when you came in here. I hurried to tell Merriwell, and that is how we came to catch you. You are trapped, Gooch. It’s plain we have caught the thief.”
A crafty look came into the eyes of the captive, and he muttered:
“Oh, I don’t know! You may think so, but you’ll soon find out who the thief is. I was simply doing a little detective work, and I shall appear as evidence against the real thief.”