As they walked back toward Sixth Avenue he added, in a less sanguine tone: �I�d undertake now to put the thing through if you could only put me on the track of that cyanide.�
Granice�s heart sank. Yes—there was the weak spot; he had felt it from the first! But he still hoped to convince McCarren that his case was strong enough without it; and he urged the reporter to come back to his rooms and sum up the facts with him again.
�Sorry, Mr. Granice, but I�m due at the office now. Besides, it�d be no use till I get some fresh stuff to work on. Suppose I call you up tomorrow or next day?�
He plunged into a trolley and left Granice gazing desolately after him.
Two days later he reappeared at the apartment, a shade less jaunty in demeanor.
�Well, Mr. Granice, the stars in their courses are against you, as the bard says. Can�t get a trace of Flood, or of Leffler either. And you say you bought the motor through Flood, and sold it through him, too?�
�Yes,� said Granice wearily.
�Who bought it, do you know?�
Granice wrinkled his brows. �Why, Flood—yes, Flood himself. I sold it back to him three months later.�
�Flood? The devil! And I�ve ransacked the town for Flood. That kind of business disappears as if the earth had swallowed it.�