“Then here’s hoping that your hunch has been right,” replied his uncle.
Bob told him about the condition of the other room down the hall and they went there and examined it at some length, finally deciding to lock and seal the door until morning when a more thorough inspection could be made.
By the time they were back in the room where Bob worked, the elevator doors clanged open and they could hear impatient footsteps hurrying toward them.
Arthur Jacobs, short, heavy and round-faced, fairly popped through the door. His blue eyes went wide as he saw the litter of papers in the room and Bob felt sorry for the filing chief for Jacobs had a splendid record of efficiency.
“What under the sun happened?” demanded Jacobs. “I’m afraid I was so sleepy I was sharp with you over the phone,” he told Bob.
“I guess I would have been a little provoked at being routed out at this time of night,” admitted Bob. “I guess my uncle can tell you better than I can.”
Arthur Jacobs, after glancing again at the wild confusion of papers on the floor, faced the federal agent.
Merritt Hughes described the events of the night briefly and Bob saw the filing chief casting anxious glances toward one of the steel cabinets. His own heart missed a beat or two for the cabinet that appeared to be worrying the filing chief was the one in which the newest radio documents were kept. It was here that any papers relating to new discoveries in this field would be placed.
But Bob managed to reassure himself. He was convinced that only the man he had caught could have been in the room and there had been no way for him to get rid of any papers which he might have stolen from the file.
Then Arthur Jacobs interrupted the federal agent.