Mackenzie slapped his knee. “I’ll bet a stack of blues you’ve guessed it.”
“There’s a way to make sure,” Curly said.
“I don’t get you.”
“Fendrick couldn’t wear Mr. Cullison’s hat around without the risk of someone remembering it later. What would he do then?”
Kate beamed. “Buy another at the nearest store.”
“That would be my guess. And the nearest store is the New York Emporium. We’ve got to find out whether he did buy one there on Tuesday some time after nine o’clock in the morning.”
The girl’s eyes were sparkling. She bustled with businesslike energy. “I’ll go and ask right away.”
“Don’t you think we’d better let Uncle Alec find out? He’s not so likely to stir up curiosity,” Curly suggested.
“That’s right. Let me earn my board and keep,” the owner of the Map of Texas volunteered.
Within a quarter of an hour Alec Flandrau joined the others at the hotel. He was beaming like a schoolboy who has been given an unexpected holiday.