“So you thought I might have been laid out,” he declared in satisfaction. “I didn’t know anyone had that much interest in my welfare!”
Then as the full implication of the open window came to him, he added anxiously:
“This makes the second time my house has been entered! I wonder what’s missing this time?”
Handing the sack of groceries to Brad, the elderly man unlocked the kitchen door.
“Come in, come in,” he invited, as the boys hesitated. “We’ll see what’s what.”
Nothing appeared to have been disturbed in the kitchen. The room however, was in a frightful state of disorder. Mr. Merrimac had not washed the breakfast dishes, and the remains of a meager lunch remained on the white porcelain table.
“I haven’t had time to clean up yet today,” he apologized. “Living alone makes one fall into careless habits.”
With the boys close at his heels, Mr. Merrimac went from room to room. In none was there any evidence that anything had been taken.
“Everything is exactly as I left it a half hour ago when I went to the grocery store,” Mr. Merrimac said in a puzzled tone. “You’re sure you saw that fellow crawling out of the window?”
“We not only saw him, we chased him down the alley,” Dan said earnestly. “You believe us, don’t you?”