* * *
Waltham’s face did not change. He shook his head as he continued talking.
“You walked into trouble, all right, Joe,” he said. “It’s lucky you got out of it.”
“We searched the place,” said Joe.
“We even looked through letters, and papers in the safe. There weren’t many of them. They didn’t tell us a thing.”
“You see, I figured that maybe there’d be letters from Birch — or some evidence we could work on. But there was nothing.”
“Bronson is a politician,” explained Waltham. “He’s not a crook. He has too many ways to make money. Why should he risk counterfeiting?”
“Well, I didn’t know that.”
“You should have known it.”
“I didn’t find any letters or papers that looked at all suspicious. We read all that were in the place. There weren’t any bonds or other valuables. Nothing but the cash.”