“I don’t think so. Ask ’em, and I’ll tell you.”
CHAPTER XXVI.
BURGLAR MORGAN’S BIGGEST HAUL.
“Morgan,” said Nick, “have you any information which can lead you to form an opinion or express a belief concerning the method which Paul Rogers intends to employ in removing me from the pale of existence?”
Morgan grinned.
“Would you mind saying that all over again, and saying it slow?” he asked. “But never mind. I’ll try to reply to it in my own way.
“You see, Mr. Carter, the fact is that this thing is much more serious than you imagine. If it hadn’t been, you can bet your life that I wouldn’t have spent the best part of two days, rigged out in these togs, standing out there in the street and holding out my hand for alms in order to keep up the character while I was waiting for you.”
“I believe you, Morgan.”
“I tell you, it is a serious matter; so serious that I felt it a duty which I owed to my own manhood to warn you. I’m a burglar, Mr. Carter, but I’ve kept some of my manhood tucked away in a dark corner where I can call upon it for use when it is needed. This was a case where I felt that it would come into play.”
“Just why did you feel that way?”
“Because I think they mean business. Because this gang, which has been formed at the suggestion of Rogers, under his orders and with his money, is composed of between fifty and sixty members, and—here is the point—because there is a separate and distinct method for getting rid of you, for each and every member of the gang.”