"Jim Farland, the sleuth!" he cried in answer. "Old Jim, the holy terror to evildoers. Now I am glad that I'm home!"
"When did you get in?"
"Yesterday. Sit down. Have a cigar. You're the first old friend I've met!"
Detective Jim Farland sat down and lighted the cigar. "You've been gone some time," he said.
"Ten years, Jim."
"Went away rather sudden, didn't you?"
"I did. I made my decision one night and sailed the night following," said Prale.
"I always wondered why you went, and what became of you. Had a good job with old Griffin, didn't you?"
"The job was all right, Jim. But there was a girl——"
"Ah, ha!"