“Describe him.”
“Well, he was short and muscular—heavily built. His jaw was sort of square and his face puffy. I couldn’t see the color of his hair, but would say he was on the dark side.”
“That’s a pretty fair description, Dan,” the sergeant praised. “You’re observing.”
“Actually, I think I saw him twice,” Dan replied. “Once in the boat and then again on shore talking to a little fellow with a paper bag. ‘Paper Bag Eddie’, they called him.”
The police sergeant and plainclothesman exchanged a quick glance.
“Kid, you’re the one we need to help us,” the latter said. “Now this is the set-up. We’ve picked up a man we think may have been mixed up in the fur robbery. Also, he may be the one that rammed Mr. Holloway’s boat. We want you to identify him.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Dan said doubtfully. “I’ll be glad to try.”
Excited at the prospect before him, Dan scribbled a note for Mr. Hatfield and the Cubs. This he placed under a pile of stones on the beach where he was certain it would be seen. He then boarded the police boat and was ferried across the river.
At the police station, Dan was told to wait in an ante-room. He sat down, thumbing through the pages of a magazine. Policemen went in and out, but save for an occasional glance at the boy, no one paid any attention to him.
Dan began to wonder if he had been entirely forgotten.