The detectives looked at each other in silence for a moment.
“He lies!” said Chick. “Mr. and Mrs. Maynard did walk in the hall last night after they were ready for bed, and he knows it, for he was not asleep. I say he was not asleep because he came out after them. Notice that the marks leading from his door are over the ones made by naked feet, and were therefore made last.”
“That looks all right on the face of it,” replied Nick, “but he says he passed through the hall this morning.”
“I overlooked that point,” said Chick, “but, anyhow, he lied about the old people not moving about.”
“He might have been asleep,” said Nick. “Don’t jump at conclusions, my son.”
Chick bent over the floor.
“What is it?” asked Nick.
“I am looking for the marks made by the burglars in passing from the rear room to the front one,” was the reply.
An inscrutable smile appeared on the face of the detective.
“Look sharply,” he said. “Perhaps you may be able to find what you are looking for.”