This was just what Frank wanted. He followed the man into the kitchen of the Polucca place. Redhead pointed to a water tap. A dipper was hanging from a nail near by.
“Go ahead,” he grunted.
Frank went over to the tap and as he did so he passed the cap on the peg. He took a swift look at the cap.
He had made no mistake. It was his father’s.
Then he received a shock that almost stunned him. For a second he almost stopped in his tracks, but then he recollected himself and moved mechanically on toward the tap.
He had seen bloodstains!
On the lower edge of the cap were three large stains, reddish in color. They could have been made by nothing but blood.
In a daze, Frank turned on the water, filled the dipper and drank. At last he turned away, conscious that Redhead had been eyeing him carefully all the time.
“Thanks,” he said, and again cast a glance at the peg.
The cap was gone!