“I hadn’t looked at it in that light,” Sigsbee said, plainly affected by the foreman’s statement. “But it sounds reasonable enough. I’ve been uneasy myself for the past month or so. There’s something in the air—that ominous calm before a storm possibly. Somehow, every time I step into the city hall I expect a hand to descend upon my shoulder. The evening papers are hinting about the amount of money being spent. I don’t know where it’ll all end.”
“I know,” vehemently declared Hooker. “It’ll be a change of clothes and a State boarding house—all without cost to us.”
“Things are looking serious, Hooker, but——” Sigsbee remained buried in thought for the time. Finally he resumed: “Are you satisfied that Nash is a city spotter?”
“Doesn’t all the evidence point that way?”
Sigsbee had to admit it did. “I’d like to know how he came in possession of my letter,” he went on. “If he found it and needed a job, and took that method of obtaining it—we’re still safe. But if it was all a cleverly worked-out scheme, such as you seem to believe—well, things look doubtful.”
“I don’t think the news has gone beyond this camp,” Hooker ventured to hint. “There’s some consolation in that, eh?”
Sigsbee’s eyes came up swiftly. “You mean we might prevent him from——” He broke off.
“Why not? Desperate cases demand desperate measures. It doesn’t seem right that one man should deprive us of all our reward. Now, if he was only out of the way——”
“We’re in too deep right now,” the politician broke in. “What you suggest would only bring the police and the reporters about us.”
Hooker laughed mirthlessly. “What did I suggest?”