I laughed outright. He had come to me for a theory once before, and here he was at his old trick.
"I haven't enough data to form a theory," I said.
"Well, maybe I can furnish you with more. I did some pretty lively work last night, and covered all the details I could think of."
"I haven't seen this morning's Record," I said. "Of course it's all there."
"Not quite all. I don't want to give the other fellows too much rope. They're all tied up in a knot, now, and I want them to stay that way."
"The 'other fellows,' I suppose, are your esteemed contemporaries?"
"In plain English, my hated rivals. But I don't mind telling you. You treated me square in the Holladay case. The boys told me afterwards how you refused to give me away."
"All right; fire ahead," I said, and cut my steak.
"Well," he began, "I saw at once, after I'd looked over the field and found out that it was impossible to see either Curtiss or Mrs. Lawrence, that the persons who could probably tell me most about the inside workings of this affair were the servants in the Lawrence house. Evidently there must have been trouble of some sort there; and it probably would not escape the servants' notice. So I went after them."
I nodded, but kept my eyes on my plate. Here was luck, indeed!