He kept digging away at the hand-bag, drawing out one article after another, until at last he came to a garment which brought something more than surprise and excitement to the faces of the boys. It was a sporty sack coat, the pattern being according to latest Bowery cut, the material coarse, and the markings of the cloth loud in the extreme.
DuBois poked the coat over and over on the ground with one disdainful finger. He seemed surprised at finding it in his bag.
“Now, where did you come from?” he asked, addressing the garment.
“Holy Mackinaw!” exclaimed Jimmie. “Don’t you know where you got the coat? You surely must know where you got it!”
“I got it out of the bag!” was the answer.
“But who put it in the bag?” demanded Ben.
“Believe me,” replied the Englishman, “I never saw the blawsted thing before this minute! It’s the most unaccountable thing, don’t you know!”
“Go on!” advised Jimmie. “Go on digging into the bag and see what else you find. You might find a bushel of pearls!”
While the Englishman continued his investigation of the bag, Jimmie nudged Ben in the side and whispered, pointing at the coat:
“That’s just about the kind of a garment the doped man wore out of Colleton’s room, isn’t it?”