“That’s very nice of you, but I wonder what is behind it. Sit down, boys.”
The walls of the room were lined with books. And it appeared that the mess that the thief had caused was all cleaned up. “What about that robbery, Gramps?” asked Bobolink.
Paul was walking around the room, pretending to be looking at the books. Actually he was searching for something. He paused to hear the professor’s answer to the question. “Not much harm done.”
“Was it a valuable book?” asked Jack.
“Not so particularly valuable; a book on colonial history.”
“Isn’t it rather odd that the thief should take that particular book and nothing else?” asked Paul casually.
Professor Link pursed his lips. “Rather,” he answered. “If he had been out to steal, he could have found more valuable things to take. He might even have found some money in the drawer of my desk, if he had looked.”
“But nothing else was touched?” Paul asked the question and was anxious to hear the answer. “No. Nothing else seems to have been taken.” Bobolink and Ken discussed with the professor the state university to which they were going, entering as freshmen in September. Paul walked around the back of the desk. He glanced down into the waste-paper basket. His heart almost stopped still. He picked something out of the basket and said to the professor, “Do you mind if I use this to copy down the name of a book?” Professor Link looked at the card. “Not at all. Where did you get it?”
“In the waste basket.” Paul turned the card to show that it was blank on both sides.
The boys stared at Paul and at the white card. “Here is some clean paper,” the professor said, and pushed forward a white pad. “And here is a pencil,” he added.