Jack nodded and agreed with his chum. “I feel the same way about it,” he said. “It is very possible that what we have discovered today has absolutely nothing to do with the fires or Mr. Grey. But somehow I have a feeling that there is some connection. But I can’t say what.”
“But if there is some sort of a connection between all these facts, how do you think they fit in?” asked Paul.
Jack shook his head. Ken said, “Suppose we begin from the very beginning. I mean from the time you came upon the house, Jack. Now, was it not Mr. Grey who led you to the house?”
“Yes. And then he sneaked around in the back and scared me half to death.”
“All right. Now if he had anything to do with the counterfeiters do you think he would have led you to that very house he wants you to keep away from? If he were a member of that gang of counterfeiters and he knew you were following him, don’t you think he would lead you to some other part of town?”
Paul said, “That may sound logical, but the opposite may also sound logical. For example, if we concede that the fellow who hit Jack on the head and then ran away did it to frighten him so that he would keep away from there, why can’t we say the same thing about Mr. Grey? Is it not possible that Mr. Grey knew he was being followed and purposely led Jack to that very house, then sneaked up behind him to frighten him so that he would never return? Isn’t that very plausible?”
“Say,” cried Jack, “if what you say is true, that fellow certainly made a mistake.”
“And how!” echoed Ken.
“Now if we know all that,” continued Paul, “that makes Mr. Grey a member of the gang of counterfeiters.”
“But what about the fires? And leading Betty away. And those white cards, what about them? And the robbery at Professor Link’s?”