“Now, was the necklace in the safe when you went to it?”
“I am certain that it was.”
“You saw it there?”
“I saw the case in which it was enclosed.”
“And the case was gone when you returned?”
“Yes; oh, the necklace was taken from the safe during my absence, all right.”
“Yet the two men were ahead of you, and went out of the street door before you reached the lower landing?”
Frank’s face showed that the idea presented by Nestor was new to him. He had never considered that feature of the case. In fact, he had been so excited that he had not thought logically of the circumstances surrounding the theft.
“Well,” he said, “I reckon I need a hired man to do my thinking for me. Why didn’t that idea get into my thick head before?”
“Are you still certain that the necklace was in the safe when you left the room?” asked Ned, with a smile.