promptly arose and stepped close beside the man. Powell seemed more nervous than before. He spoke to the clerk as Harry stood looking in another direction.
"I'm staying another night," said Powell, "but I'm taking my bag out with me now.
Suppose I pay you in advance — "
The clerk nodded and indicated the cashier's window. As Powell passed Harry, he spoke in a low voice:
"Back in five minutes."
No one overheard the statement. It was all that Harry wanted to know. He already knew the room number.
Harry strolled back to his chair and watched Powell return to the elevator to get the bag from his room. That bag, Harry thought, must contain the required data. Several men went up on the elevator with Powell.
Powell's room was on the fifth floor — Room 516. In five minutes, he would just have time to get his belongings and return. Evidently he had decided to accept Harry's terms. The five minutes proved painfully slow. Before the end of the time lapse, Harry had left his chair and was anxiously standing near the desk, from where he could watch both elevator and stairway. He was determined to lose no time from now on; for Powell's manner had plainly told that all was set.
Five minutes were past. The clock showed that six minutes had transpired. What was keeping Powell?
Another minute. Had the man deliberately misled Harry?