"What did Alfred Barker have to do with it?"
"He was with him. He was the man that engaged the Opery House and done the rest of the business. Diavolo kep' in the background. Nobody knows who Diavolo was, but Alfred Barker left a trail I could follow." Excitement had made his voice almost strong, and brought back a momentary energy.
"What did you want to follow him for?"
His face worked with passion. "To get back my thousand!" he cried, clenching his trembling hands.
"How did he get your thousand?"
"He got it from the bank, on a check he made me sign while I was hypnotized!"
Suddenly I remembered,--Eden Valley, 32.00 plus 1000. That was a part of the memoranda in Barker's note-book. A memorandum of the profits of their trip! But I must understand it better.
"Did you let Diavolo hypnotize you?" I asked.
"I didn't think he could," the old farmer admitted, hanging his head. "I thought my will was too strong for him to get control of me. He called for people to come up from the audience and I laughed with the rest to see him make fools of the boys,--making them eat tallow candles for bananas, and scream when he threw a cord at them and said it was a snake, and things like that. But I was mighty proud of my strong will, and the boys dared me to go up and let him have a try at me, so I went."
"And did he make you sign a check?" I asked, incredulously.