All of these were in sympathy with Pollard, and Prescott felt himself a rank outsider. But he persevered.
Joe, the other elevator boy, declared he had not carried Mr Pollard up or down that evening, and the clerk said there were but two cars.
“Go on, Mr Prescott,” Pollard adjured him. “I have prepared no air-tight alibi.”
“Did any one here see Mr Pollard in his room,” the detective asked in desperation, and to his surprise a bellhop piped out, “I did.”
“You did!” and Prescott turned to him. “How did you happen to do so?”
“He rang, and I went up there, and he gave me a letter to mail for him. It was a wide letter, too wide to go in the chute.”
“Did you mail it?”
“I put it with the stuff for the postman to take. He hasn’t been round yet.”
“Get the letter.”
The bellhop did so, while the others looked on.