CHAPTER XL.
NICK OUTLINES HIS CAMPAIGN.
In a moment Doctor Lord and the nurse were back at the patient’s side.
“I must ask you gentlemen to go,” the physician said crisply. “This has been too much for him, as it is, and any further excitement might cause serious complications, if nothing worse.”
There was nothing for it but to withdraw, and to hope that the effect of the interview would not be as serious as the doctor suggested.
Fortunately, the detective instinct had been strong in Cray, notwithstanding his condition, and he had covered the ground pretty thoroughly—surprisingly so, in view of the few words he had spoken. His statement about the suit case, and his description of the car might prove particularly valuable.
Nick took pains to interview Simpson, his wife, and the servant before leaving the house and then paid a visit to the garage.
He smiled as he noted the subterfuge of the underground gasoline tank.
“Quite clever, on the surface,” he remarked, “but Simpson seems to be a queer mixture. He impresses you at one time with his cleverness, at another with stupidity.”
“I don’t see anything stupid about this,” Griswold objected. “It strikes me as very ingenious. It permitted him to dig up the ground to his heart’s content without arousing suspicion.”