The first detective looked at the jocular Warren Jarvis, who published his third wink, this time in the direction of the big sleuth.
"King! Huh! Roosevelt wasn't elected! Did yer get that, Jim? Well, what do you know about that?"
Jarvis leaned forward, with a sibilant whisper of secrecy:
"Sssh! Gentlemen. Don't be disturbed. He is quite harmless. You heard him raving about a king? He suffers from pernicious megalomania. That's all—nothing more. He has grandiose ideas."
Jim coughed apologetically as his superior officer blinked.
"What does them words mean, Jim?"
"Wheels—bats in his belfry—just plain nutty, Mike."
"You mean he is crazy, mister?"
Jarvis nodded.
"Yes, he is at times. But don't be cross with him, for he has a beautiful nature, except when the ravages of the disease are upon him. You know, he doesn't even like me when he has a spell like this. But he's not at all dangerous. It is just necessary to humor him—he's not to blame—it's the way he was raised."