“I’ll go out to Hackenford to-morrow,” decided Larry. “I might as well settle this thing one way or the other as soon as possible. Though I don’t understand why, if he lives in Hackenford; he took the subway downtown to New York. Though he might have stayed in the city over-night I guess there’s nothing suspicious in that.”
Early the next morning Larry went to the office of the Leader. He had a “tip” on a story he wanted to turn in, and he wanted to talk with Mr. Emberg, and explain where he was going.
“Well, keep right on with the case,” the city editor urged him.
“I’m afraid it’s going to fall flat,” remarked Larry. “I can’t seem to land anything. Do you think it’s worth while spending more money on it?”
“I certainly do!” was the quick reply. “We’ll get a big story out of it some day. Don’t give up, Larry! We haven’t lost confidence in you.”
“But I’m not grinding out much copy.”
“No, but you will. Go on out to Hackenford, and see what turns up.”
So Larry took a train for the New Jersey town.
He had no difficulty in locating the place where Witherby lived. It was a small boarding-house, as was evidenced by the sign telling of furnished rooms to let.
“Now to see if there are any of the million-dollar bricks around here,” said Larry softly, as, with the boarding-house as a starting point, he set out.