I walked away slowly, my head filled with all sorts of thoughts. Could there be any connection between the visit of the two strangers and the trouble over at Bayport? and where had Mr. Norton gone during the previous evening? Had he spent the time at the tavern?
I soon had a chance to solve the last question. A tall, ragged fellow came along, and I recognized him at once as Joe Kent, a ne’er-do-well of the Bend.
“Hullo, Joe!” I sang out.
“Hullo, Rube,” he returned. “What brings you to the Bend so early in the morning?”
“A little business, Joe. Tell me, were you over at Bender’s tavern last evening?”
“What you want to know for?”
“I want to know who was there.”
“I was there from about eight o’clock till Bender closed up.”
“Was there a tall stranger there?”
“No; only Bender, Hallett, Forms, and myself.”