“Anything else?”
“He went over the floor like a fox, with his nose close to the boards.”
“Was that all?”
“No, he even sounded the ceiling.”
“Quite particular,” smiled the detective.
“Wasn’t he, though? I never saw anything just like that. He didn’t let an inch of space escape him.”
“Did he seem excited?”
“Not a bit of it. He was as cool as a cucumber, and not for a minute did he get off his base. He seemed disappointed, though, that’s all—as if he expected to find some hidden wealth and didn’t, you see.”
“Maybe he overlooked it, Billy.”
“I don’t think there was any to overlook,” said the boy. “But, really, there’s no telling what that man was huntin’, but he wasn’t thar for any good you can bet your neck, Mr. Carter.”