Moore did another good bit of work that night all on his own too, for he won Larry over completely.
It was amusing to watch. He got me to call Larry in, and then he jumped to his feet, for the first time dropping his drawl and his affected manner. “Look here, Clayton,” he said, “we’re all in this together. Suppose you introduce me, like a good fellow?”
I played up of course, and introduced them in due form. Moore shook hands, smiling in a taking way he had. “Glad to meet you, Larry,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you and how you’ve stood by Clayton here. Real friends aren’t so easily come by.”
Larry was covered with confusion, “Sure, sor,” he stammered, “I ain’t done much.” Then he turned fiery red.
“Nonsense! And look here, Larry. Clayton has let me in on this search of his, so the three of us are all in it together now. And I’m hoping that you’ll stand by me too, if the occasion arises. From what I’ve heard of you, I can’t think of a man I’d rather have in a pinch!” He held out his hand again.
Larry hesitated a moment, and then reached out and took it in a grasp of iron, his confidence suddenly returning with the sudden and obvious liking induced by Moore’s charm.
“I’ll do that same, sor,” he said simply.
Now I had not said a word to Moore about Larry’s distrust of him. But Moore must have sensed it, and my respect for my fellow-worker went up another notch.
It was some time after this that the melodramatic part of the evening began. Larry entered into the spirit of the thing. He ripped off the baseboard in my bedroom and ran the telephone wires along it to the window. Here, with a drill he bored a hole straight through the outside wall of the house and ran the wires out on to the fire-escape. Then he replaced the baseboard, so that not an inch of wire showed in the room itself. We put the instrument on a tiny table and put a big chair in front of it, and then nothing showed at all.
When this was finished we climbed out on to the fire-escape and prepared for the big task.