"What's this?" inquired the pension agent.
"All that's left of your friend Holden," was the reply. "One of my men reported late last night that he had heard a splash in the river as though some one had jumped off the wharf, but he couldn't find out anything more. To tell the truth, he didn't look very hard—because we had our hands full with a robbery of Green's clothing store. Some one broke in there and—"
"Yes—but what about Holden?" Simmons interrupted.
"Guess you'll have to drag the river for him," answered the chief. "We found his coat and vest and raincoat on the dock this mornin', and on top of them was this note, addressed to you."
The note, as Larry found an instant later, read:
I'd rather die in the river than go to jail. Tell your boss that he can pay two pensions now—one for each of the Dave Holdens.
The signature, almost illegible, was that of "David Holden (Number two)."
"No doubt that your man heard the splash when Holden went overboard last night?" inquired the operative.
"Not the least in the world. He told me about it, but I didn't connect it with the man you were after, and, besides, I was too busy right then to give it much thought."
"Any chance of recovering the body?"