“Very, very important,” added Jack.
Ken turned to Paul and said, “You tell him, Paul.”
Paul drew up his chair and leaned on the desk. He began, “You see, Chief, what we are going to tell you may sound very fantastic but I want you to believe that we are telling the truth and that we are not inventing anything.”
“Go on, go on,” urged the chief, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair.
“Well, to begin with,” continued Paul, “we have discovered a gang of counterfeiters—”
The chief almost jumped out of his seat. He flew forward to the desk and cried, “You have what? What are you talking about? Are you telling me stories or something?”
Paul felt his confidence shaking. He realized that the chief was a terror and would be hard to convince, but, he said to himself, he had to be convinced. “You see,” he said, “already you think we are telling you some fictionized story or trying to shock you. Please listen, it’s very important, and if you want to catch the gang, you have to act quickly.”
“Go on, go on,” said the chief, leaning on his desk.
“At 752 York Street, there is an empty house. In the cellar of that house you will find a printing press and all the things necessary to make counterfeit money.”