With great deliberation the trainer drew a small package from his inside coat pocket, carefully unwrapped it, placing the contents on the table in front of Mr. Sparling.
“What’s this—what’s this?”
“That’s the wire.”
“But there are two pieces here—”
“Yes. I cut off a few feet on each side of where the break occurred. Those are the two.”
Mr. Sparling regarded them critically.
“How can you tell that the wire has been cut, except where you cut it yourself?”
“It was cut halfway through with a file, as you can see, sir. When Forrest threw his weight on it, of course the wire parted at the weakened point.”
“H-m-m-m.”
“If you will examine it, an inch or two above the cut, you will find two or three file marks, where the file started to cut, then was moved down. Probably slipped. Looks like it. Don’t you think I’m right, sir?”