“By God, Chief, it could!”
“Or, more likely, Ah! Sing Sing!”
“Who said that?”
“The bird!”
“But who taught the bird?”
“Nobody taught it! It might have been the last thing said by Stockbridge—just before he was shot.”
“And the bird repeated it—to us?”
“Certainly! A parrot or a magpie is a living phonograph. They reproduce a sound, at times, without any idea of knowing what they are saying. This bird may have been so frightened by the shot which was fired in the library, that it recalled the words used by Stockbridge before the shot was fired. These words, in my opinion, tell us that the millionaire was ’phoning to some individual, probably the whispering-voiced man. This individual and Ah, Sing! or Ah, Sing Sing! or Ah, Singing! or Ossining! are closely allied. Now who of Stockbridge’s enemies does that fit?”
Drew rose to his feet and dusted his knees. “Is that clear?” he asked.
“Clear as mud, Chief! I don’t get it yet!”