He produced a plain gold wedding ring nestling in a white velvet case. Mrs. Welcome uttered a little cry of gladness. She believed in Harvey, who, incidentally, was all he pretended to be.
“O, I know I ain’t much,” went on Harvey, “just a clerk in a small town store, but I’ve got ambitions. Look at all the great men! Where did they begin? At the bottom.”
Harvey paused. Then he looked all about him carefully and, satisfied with this survey, leaned confidentially toward Mrs. Welcome and whispered:
“Say, can you keep a secret, Mrs. Welcome?”
“I guess so,” replied Mrs. Welcome smiling. “Try me, Harvey.”
“All right, I’m going to be a detective,” Harvey announced proudly.
“You are, Harvey?” was the astonished reply.
“Just watch me,” Harvey went on. “I’m taking a correspondence school course. Here are some of my lessons.” He took some closely typewritten sheets of paper from his pocket. “Ever notice how broad I am between the eyes?” he demanded.
“I can’t say that I have,” said Mrs. Welcome.
“Well, I am, and it’s one of the signs, so they say, of the born detective. Listen here a moment.”