"Fifth floor, rooms 501 and 502," read Bob. "It's a rather poor-looking office building,—and these stairs certainly do creak."
When Bob reached his destination, he found a notice tacked on the door which informed him that Mr. Jenkins would return at half-past two.
"I'll walk around a bit," he mused, slowly retracing his steps.
Promptly at the time stated, Bob was again standing before the office door.
Mr. Jenkins, however, was still absent.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, and Bob, impatient at the delay, once more reluctantly descended to the street. Finally a neighboring clock struck the hour of three.
The notes had scarcely ceased reverberating, when a tall, thin man rapidly crossed the street, headed directly for the doorway. He brushed past Bob Somers and mounted the stairs.
Bob gave a gasp of surprise and quickly followed.
As the man turned on the fifth landing, Bob had reached the fourth. He waited long enough to hear a door opened and shut, then mounted the remaining steps two at a time.
The notice at the entrance to Mr. Jenkins' office had been removed.