“And yet,” retorted Graham, with a slight sneer, “you have been robbed.”
“And yet I have been robbed,” repeated Mr. Braithwait, calmly. “Without interfering sadly with my comfort and ease, I cannot make my house a bank or surround myself with an army of watchmen. And I don’t like dogs. So I have been robbed. Yet”—Mr. Braithwait looked Mr. Graham quietly in the eye—“yet I am not entirely defenceless.”
“Hello!” said Baxter, breathing hard. “Have you been up to somethin’?”
“You shall judge whether I have rightly accused you of lack of common sense. Before attacking this house, did you make yourself acquainted with the surroundings?”
“I did,” answered Graham, confidently.
“Do you know that I am a railroad man?”
“Certainly.”
“Did you notice a wire running through the woods at the rear of my house?”
“No!” cried Graham, violently.
“A strange oversight on your part. Very stupid. It is a telephone wire, and leads from my chamber above to my office in the city. Now for the application of my remarks. From the moment of your entrance I was aware of your movements, and instantly explained the situation to the night operator. He, of course, notified the police——”