“I see—a sort of detective stunt,” remarked Frank.
“Sort of,” admitted Tom.
“How would it do to make a noise like a tick,” suggested Phil.
“Say, I’m not joking,” exclaimed Tom.
“Neither am I,” asserted Phil. “But let’s be real mysterious about it, and we’ll get the guilty one so much more easily.”
“Oh, don’t be silly!” snapped Tom, who, truth to tell, was getting a bit short-tempered.
“I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
“Say, let’s all get back to bed, and fight this out in the morning,” suggested Frank, and they took his advice, though it was but a troubled sleep that any of the four got the rest of that night.
Talking it over by daylight they decided that Tom’s plan might not be so bad. Accordingly, they put it into practice.