The solid citizens of the village sat upon the verdict in the store, solemnly considered it, and agreed that it was so. This point settled, there was left only the other: Who were the thieves? The solid citizens by a unanimous decision concluded that Inspector Byrnes was the man to tell them.
So they came over to New York and laid the matter before him, with a mental diagram of the village, the house, the dog, and the ladder at the window. There was just the suspicion of a twinkle in the corner of the inspector’s eye as he listened gravely and then said:
“It was the spare bedroom, wasn’t it?”
“The spare bedroom,” said the committee, in one breath.
“The only one in the house?” queried the inspector, further.
“The only one,” responded the echo.
“H’m!” pondered the inspector. “You keep hands on your farm, Mr. Dodge?”
Mr. Dodge did.
“Sleep in the house?”
“Yes.”