“But along what lines?” Chick inquired.
“One is opened, Chick, by a single significant point,” Nick replied. “The crooks must have learned several days ago what costume Mrs. Waldmere intended wearing, or they would not have been able, nor have had time, to prepare a duplicate of it.”
“True, Nick; that goes without saying.”
“The question is, then, from whom did they get their information?” Nick proceeded. “Mrs. Waldmere discussed the costume with her husband, and also confided in only one intimate friend, Clara Ringold.”
“The crooks may have got their information, then, from a servant in one house or the other.”
“That’s the very point. But it was a servant in the Ringold house.”
“Why do you feel so sure of that?”
“For several reasons,” said Nick. “First, because Waldmere is a fine fellow and his wife a lovable mistress, and their servants would be much less likely to be treacherous than persons employed elsewhere.”
“There is some truth in that,” Chick allowed.
“Second, because the crooks made a mark of the Ringolds and used their invitation cards,” Nick went on. “Why did they select that Brooklyn couple, instead of some invited couple living nearer?”