"He got a telephone message at twelve o'clock on Monday night," she whispered.
"You mean last Monday?" questioned Marsh. He recollected that Merton had been reported missing for ten days.
The girl nodded.
"Of course, at that hour," suggested Marsh, "you were not very busy and would therefore be likely to listen in on the wire."
"The very idea!" she exclaimed, indignantly.
"Look here," said Marsh. "If I can rescue Merton from the predicament he is probably in, someone will be handsomely rewarded. Is it not a safe bet that the person who gives me the correct information to put me on the right track, will be pretty well taken care of?"
The girl sat in thoughtful silence.
"And if Mr. Merton should happen to be dead, Mrs. Merton would be very grateful, indeed, to anyone who had helped her learn the truth," Marsh added.
Again the girl looked cautiously about. The hint of an ample reward was having its effect.
"If I lose my job..." she warned, and then again leaned toward Marsh. "I listened in, all right. It was a man who said his name was Nolan. From what I heard I think he used to be a chauffeur for Mr. Merton. He said he was in an awful hole, that he was unjustly accused of theft, and that they were about to lock him up. He asked Mr. Merton if he could do anything to keep him out of this disgrace. Mr. Merton said he would try and asked where he was. Nolan said he was being detained in the apartment of a man named Ames, at some place on Sheridan Road—I forget the exact number."