Keefe was greatly surprised and impressed by the story of the cook’s having seen a man on the south veranda at the time of the shooting.
“But she didn’t see him clearly,” Fibsy added.
“Couldn’t she describe him?”
“No; she didn’t see him plain enough. But the maid, Rachel, told cook that she saw the man, too, and that he carried a bugle. Cook didn’t see the bugle.”
“Naturally not, if she only saw the man vaguely,” said Wheeler. “But, it begins to look as if there must have been a man there and if so, he may have been the criminal.”
“Let us hope,” said Keefe, earnestly. “Now, can you find this man, Mr. Stone?”
“We’ve got to find him,” Stone returned, “whether we can or not. It’s really a baffling case. I think we’ve discovered the origin of the fire in the garage.”
He told the story that Fibsy had learned from the chauffeur, and Keefe was greatly interested.
“What are the acids?” he asked.
“I don’t know the exact names,” Stone admitted, “but they are of just such powers as Fulton described, and the thing is plausible. Here’s the bottle.” He offered the little vial for inspection and Keefe looked at it with some curiosity.