"Yes, I heard of that." He paused for a moment. "What brought you?"
This was a home question. I plunged in like a swimmer into a deep stream.
"I came to get the papers relating to the Strong forgeries. You have all of them, I suppose."
I was surprised at my own boldness. So was my listener.
"Sh! not so loud," he exclaimed. "Who said I had the papers?"
"John Stumpy spoke about them to Mr. Woodward."
"He did, eh?" sneered Chris Holtzmann. "He had better keep his mouth shut. How does he know but what the papers were destroyed long ago?"
"I hope not," I replied earnestly.
"What does Woodward want of the papers?"
"I don't know exactly. The Strong family are going to have the case opened again, and he's afraid they may be dragged in."