“Perry has been trying to shed a little more light on the Tower robbery,” explained Mr, Hardy. “But what is this clue you’re talking about?”
“It might concern the robbery,” replied Frank. “It’s about the red-haired man.” He took the wig from his pocket and told where he had found it.
Mr. Hardy’s interest was kindled at once. “This seems to link up a pretty good chain of evidence. The man who passed you on the shore road wrecked the car he was driving, then stole Chet’s, and afterward tried to hold up the ticket office. When he failed there, he tried another and more successful robbery at the Tower.”
“Do you really think the wig might help us solve the Tower robbery?” asked Perry, taking hope.
“Possibly.”
“I was just telling your father,” Slim went on, “that I saw a strange man lurking around the grounds of the mansion two days before the robbery. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and in the shock of Dad’s arrest I forgot about it.”
“Did you get a good look at him? Could you describe him?” Frank asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t. It was in the evening. I was sitting by a window, studying, and happened to look up. I saw this fellow moving about among the trees. Later, I heard one of the dogs barking in another part of the grounds. Shortly afterward, I saw someone running across the lawn. I thought he was just a tramp.”
“Did he wear a hat or a cap?”
“As near as I can remember, it was a cap. His clothes were dark.”