“I’ll fix it so he won’t know of it,” exclaimed Larry.
“How?” inquired the lawyer.
“Well, as soon as I have the necessary legal permission, I’ll go to Mrs. Boland, the landlady, and tell her what I propose doing. I’ll tell her it is necessary, for the reputation of her house, that it be kept quiet, and that, when Witherby returns, he shall not even get a hint that his room has been entered.”
“But he’ll see his things disturbed,” suggested the bank president.
“I intend to do the searching all by myself,” said Larry. “I’ll put everything back where I find it.”
“But the other boarders in the house,” came from the lawyer. “They will surely suspect something.”
“Not if I can get Mrs. Boland to help me. I’ll see her alone, explain what I want, and suggest that I’d like to see our suspect and that I be allowed to wait for Witherby in his room. I can pretend to be a sort of acquaintance, who wants to see him, you know. Then I can make my search and get away. If I find nothing suspicious, that will end it. If I get a clew, then——”
“An arrest will follow!” exclaimed Mr. Bentfield. “Justice must be done, no matter what the result. The bank owes it to itself, and the other clerks, who are under an unjust suspicion, must be cleared, Larry, the quicker this is over with the better.”
The young reporter lost no time in starting for Hackenford. He planned to reach it before the other boarders came home to supper, as that would make his task easier. The lawyer went with him to secure the search-warrant, and then returned to New York.
Mrs. Boland, the landlady, was much surprised to see again the young man who had been present on the other sensational occasion, when the sneak-thief was discovered.