Nick Carter then had been studying the evidence he had found for nearly half an hour, but he really had mentioned to Patsy only a few of his discoveries and deductions, being too absorbed in the work to discuss it.
With a lens in his hand, and a frown on his intent, clean-cut face, he was bending over a table on which the various articles had been placed, and which gave Chick some little surprise when he saw them.
“Great guns!” said he, approaching. “Are you starting a secondhand-clothing store.”
“Not by a long chalk,” said Nick. “I’m starting a ball rolling that will probably crush a gang of crooks. Sit down. Have you been to Gordon’s office?”
“Certainly.”
“What have you learned? Close the door again, Patsy.”
Chick then made his report in detail, adding confidently:
“Take it from me, Nick. Pauline Perrot is a remarkably clever crook. I’ll wager my pile that she is the one who robbed the vault, in spite of Gordon’s mysterious absence and his suspected relations with her.”
Nick smiled a bit oddly.
“Have a look at this evidence, Chick, while I tell you where we found it,” he replied. “You may change your mind.”