“What in thunder are you two talking about?” Griswold broke in.
“Have you ever heard of Ernest Gordon, familiarly known as Green-eye Gordon?” the detective asked him.
“Of course. I read my newspapers more carefully than any one else does. Good heavens! Is it possible that you think Gordon could have impersonated you?”
Nick nodded.
“That’s precisely what I feel obliged to think,” he answered.
“But—but Gordon is in prison, isn’t he? No, by Heaven, he’s dead! I had forgotten for the moment, but he died in that fire up at Dannemora a short time ago. Don’t you remember?”
“That was the report,” Nick admitted readily, “and naturally I accepted it at the time, as every one else did. This astounding information you have just given me, however, puts a very different face on the matter. I believe Gordon would have been capable of that sort of thing—in fact, I have evidence of similar stunts pulled off by him in the past. Furthermore, I know of no one else with a criminal record who would have been capable of such a performance—and no one without a long criminal experience would have dared do such a thing. Finally, we have Simpson’s testimony, which seems plain enough to me. When Cray was first attacked, he naturally assumed that his assailant was I, and he spoke my name in dazed incredulity. The next moment, however, overwhelming doubt would naturally have assailed him, and, under the influence of that, he must have obtained a closer glimpse in some way. Or it may be that the scoundrel betrayed himself unconsciously. Jack was about all in by that time, but he had strength enough to whisper his enemy’s name. He wasn’t talking about green-eyed jealousy, you may be sure, but about Green-eye Gordon!”
“Very ingenious,” Griswold admitted doubtfully.
“How could such a mistake have been made at the prison, however? The report of Gordon’s death has never been corrected.”
“Probably because its inaccuracy has never been discovered,” Nick told him. “A convict was burned unrecognizably, and the remains were identified only by the number on the coat. Another convict escaped and hasn’t been recaptured. Isn’t it easy enough to believe that a man of Gordon’s stamp might have seen a fellow prisoner succumb to the choking fumes, and, under cover of the excitement, might have managed to exchange coats without being discovered?”