Another trip to the detective’s desk brought to light a powerful magnifying glass. Armed with this, the rascal returned to the safe and began a systematic inspection of its surfaces, inward and outward, so far as he could gain access to them.
He was looking for some place where the enamel had been worn off by the frequent pressure by fingers, or where finger marks had been left in such a way as to indicate repeated pressures.
He began just beyond the edge of the narrow door, and worked his way completely around it, but without success.
“I didn’t think I’d find it there,” he told himself, “but I had to make sure first.”
He then extended his area of search, taking in the jambs of the outer door, and so working his way out to the exterior of the safe.
He did not waste time over the inside of the outer door, for his common sense told him that there could be no connection between that and the rest of the safe, except through the hinges, which were not likely to conceal any hidden wiring or mechanical connection.
It was a long and tedious search. Most men would have given up in the first few minutes, or at the end of an hour, but not so Green-eye Gordon. There was an ugly expression on his face, and his nerves were on edge, but he kept on with a dogged determination, scrutinizing the enameled surface of the safe inch by inch, and going over it not once, but many times.
The fact that the safe was set into the wall gave him a comparatively small surface to cover, and seemed to promise success without any great effort, but the promise was without foundation.
Nevertheless, the scoundrel’s persistence was finally rewarded.
He located the secret spring, but did so purely by accident, not from any help which his keen eyes, or Nick’s powerful magnifying glass gave him.