“I thought I should like to examine it.”
“Why?”
“To see what had been done to it.”
“Oh, you do, eh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think happened to that wire? It broke, didn’t it?”
“Yes, I guess there is no doubt about it but somebody helped to break it.”
“Young man, you are too confoundedly smart. Mark my words, you’ll die young. Yes; I have the wire. Here it is. Look at it. You are right; something happened to it, and I’ve been tearing myself to pieces, ever since, to find out who it was. I’ve got all my amateur sleuths working on the case, this very minute, to find out who the scoundrel is who cut the wire. Have you any idea about it? But there’s no use in asking you. I—”
“I’ve got this,” answered Phil, tossing a small file on the table in front of Mr. Sparling.
“What, what, what? A file?”