It was too late to escape through the window. The only refuge available was a clothes closet.
Penny darted inside and softly shut the door. Scarcely had she secreted herself when three men entered the room. Peering out through the keyhole, she distinguished Cron, Hoges, and the man in gray whom she had once followed to the Franklyn Street address. Apparently, the men had returned for something they had forgotten. Hanley Cron searched in a table drawer.
"Say, who left that window open?" he demanded unexpectedly.
"I didn't," Hoges said.
"You can't blame me for it," the other man growled. "Probably you opened it yourself."
"I did not," Cron retorted. He crossed the room and slammed down the window. "Be careful about things like that. If we're not more cautious we'll have the cops on us."
"If you ask me, I think it's about time we blow," Hoges commented. "This town is getting pretty hot for us."
"Maybe you're right," Cron muttered. "I had a disagreeable hour with that simple minded Mrs. Dillon. She's still afraid to notify the police, but that Nichols girl has been talking with her, and she may make us trouble."
"Christopher Nichols has been assigned to the jewel case too," Hoges added. "He's no sloth when it comes to action!"
"Our game has just about played out," Cron agreed. "But I have one more good customer lined up. I told him to come here at one-thirty to see the picture."