‘I was busy,’ he continued, ‘but in about five minutes I went through the hall, and, thinking I heard a noise, I stopped and listened at the study door. There was someone moving about. The door was open. As I peered around it, I saw a masked man, gun in hand, hesitating near the fireplace.
‘Then he went over to the table in the center of the room, picked up the stacks of ten- and twenty-dollar bills, and left by the window. I called the police immediately and gave them a description.’
‘Exactly what time was that?’ asked Fordney.
‘Just about ten o’clock, sir.’
‘Had you been in the library before that, this morning?’
‘No, I hadn’t.’
‘Were you in your master’s room today?’
‘No. What’s that got to do with it?’
‘Nothing,’ murmured Fordney, ‘nothing at all! Does your master gamble often?’
‘I don’t think so.’