“No sign of it. All cubic inches accounted for.”

Since it was Saul, that settled it. I asked him, “Is there another door?”

“One at the back. We’ve got it propped.”

“Okay. You and Fred stay here. Orrie, come with me.”

He lumbered over and I led him into the other room. After I closed the door behind us it was good and dark, but there were two dim rectangles for windows, and after a few seconds I made out an outline in a chair. I said to Orrie, “Sing.”

He grumbled, “What the hell, I’m too hungry to sing.”

“Sing anyway. If one of them happens to glue his ear to a window I want him to hear something. Sing ‘Git Along, Little Dogie.’ ”

“I can’t sing in the dark—”

“Damn it, will you sing?”

He cleared his throat and started it up. Orrie had a pretty good voice. I went close to the outline in the chair and said to it: