The robbers had made a good haul while they were at it. Evidently they had known something of the lie of the land, had figured where everything was, or had been told where things were. And, thought Frank, they had not done all this after they had bound and gagged the wealthy widow. There was so much to be done that they had probably been in the house while she was away, and the small noises they made upstairs were those which she had heard and had permitted to pass unheeded.
Having looked carefully about the room, having seen how thoroughly these fellows had worked, Frank proposed they go downstairs to await the police.
They had not long to wait. They had barely gained the landing below when the police knocked at the front door, having come around from the broad front of the house.
Frank admitted them while Mrs. Parsons, still almost overcome at the fright and also at the realization of her loss, sat in a large chair, sobbing, patting her eyes with her handkerchief the while.
The whole story was told again, this time a few little details being added which explained to Frank the very things he had thought were true that these fellows had been in the house all the time, and that they had caught and bound her when they had finished upstairs and had come down to rifle the lower part of the house.
“Have you any idea who did this, Mrs. Parsons?” asked one of the men from the police department.
“If I had, would I have you out here? Wouldn’t I have you chasing them right now?”
“I mean, madam, would you recognize them if you saw them again?”
“No, because they wore handkerchiefs over their faces, and that is all I saw as I turned to see what was behind me.”
“Did you notice their clothes or anything?”