ies."
"Thanks to his eccentricities, we've also lost his competence," Julius
Weiss pointed out. "Go on, Steve."
"Right. Well, Tom specified bedrooms A and B, and by the time he got
the reservations and found that he had actually received bedrooms B
and C, it was too late to change because the train was sold out."
"I can't see what difference that made," Rick objected.
"You will. People often buy connecting bedrooms on a train, and that's
what Tom had done. He planned to keep the connecting door open and
remain awake all night with an eye on Marks. However, while A and B
connect, B and C do not. Do I make myself clear?"
"I think so," Rick agreed. "The connecting bedrooms come in pairs,
A-B, C-D, and so on."
"That's it. Well, Tom ran a fast check on the person who had received
bedroom D, and found it was a Baltimore businessman who often traveled
on the same train, going overnight to New York. So Tom didn't worry
about it. Instead, he kept his bedroom door open so he could watch the
corridor. He says he didn't sleep at all, and I believe him. He's one
of my best agents. The occupant of Bedroom D came on the train at
Baltimore and went right to bed. The night passed quietly, until it
was time to get Marks up. Tom had great trouble waking him up, and he
was groggy until this strange effect hit him. Rick and Scotty know.
They were there."
The boys shuddered, remembering Marks' condition.
"But where did the opportunity to drug him come in?" Weiss asked.
"We've done some fast checking on every possible angle," Steve said
quietly, "and we've found a couple of interesting things. First of
all, the man who reserved Bedroom D is in a Baltimore hospital. He was
struck by a hit-and-run car as he walked from his office to the
railroad station. Obviously, he was struck deliberately. He's in
critical condition."
"Then the man on the train..." Rick gasped.
"Yes. Who was the man on the train? We don't know. We've had our
Boston office go over the room, and they've turned up no fingerprints
except those of the porter who cleaned up after the train left New
York. The room was wiped clean. But our Boston men also found an
interesting spot on the rug. They had a sample analyzed, and so far as
we can determine, it's a kind of water-soluble salt paste often used
by doctors when they take electrocardiograms."
The group leaned forward, interested. Rick knew the kind of stuff
Steve meant, because he had once watched Zir
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