“Now, don’t be too sure about finding Colleton in British Columbia,” Mr. Havens warned, when the boys consulted him regarding the point they had been discussing. “We are out here on the faintest kind of a hint, and it is just possible that the hint was contributed by friends of the mail-order people in order to draw our attention from the real point of interest. Such things are often done.”
“I don’t believe the secret service department would send us on such a journey because of a mere hint,” Ben argued. “There’s something back of it all that we don’t know anything about!”
“I have an idea that we know nearly as much as the department does,” smiled Mr. Havens, “except in one regard. We don’t know where the hint came from and they do. We never shall know!”
“Is there a record anywhere which shows how the two men were dressed? Meaning, of course, the two men who were seen in the corridor in front of Colleton’s door?” asked Ben.
“One of the girls working at a desk not far from the door is on record as saying that the heavy man was dressed entirely in brown, including hat and gaiters, and that the slender man was dressed in a sporty coat with large checks, and a pocket or roller felt hat. He wore a wing collar, a hard-bosomed shirt, and a red necktie.”
“Quite a sporty looking guy!” laughed Jimmie.
“Did any one ever see Colleton dressed like that?” asked Ben.
“Colleton was very particular about his wardrobe,” replied Mr. Havens. “On the day in question, he wore a neat suit of blue serge, a new derby hat, and a soft silk shirt with a Byronic collar. His tie was a mixture of white and blue. Half a dozen girls remembered exactly how he looked as he stepped into his office that morning.”
“Now, look here,” Ben chuckled, “if Colleton was to be abducted, and a man was to do the disguise stunt for him, wouldn’t the villain of the play attempt to make the disguise a strong contrast to the usual dress of the victim? Colleton was quiet and refined in his dress, as you describe it, and it seems to me that a disguise intended for him would naturally partake of the sporty style.”
“That’s good argument, Ben!” Mr. Havens answered.