“The trunks containing the belongings of the three crooks who have been living here must have been taken away several days ago, or by night, perhaps,” Nick went on. “Deland would not have deferred their removal until this morning.”
“Surely not.”
“It is barely possible, of course, that the hackman who was here this morning was in league with them, but I do not think it probable. We must hunt him up, therefore, and find out where he took Deland and Fannie Coyle this morning.”
“You appear to have no doubt of their identity, Nick?”
“Not the slightest.”
“Gee! it looks like a cinch, chief, for fair,” put in Patsy.
“Bear in mind, too, that we have one unsuspected advantage over this rascal,” Nick added.
“What is that?”
“He doesn’t even dream, of course, that we are informed of his identity. He undoubtedly has been living here in disguise. He will discard it, now, and take another alias, confident that no one will recognize him, or even think of Mortimer Deland as the perpetrator of this robbery.”
“That’s more than likely, Nick, and we ought to derive some advantage from it.”