stayed on, thinking more and more
disconnectedly, eating nothing, his nerves wearing to raw ends.

Upstairs Braceway was strengthening the net he had already woven around
Henry Morley.

"I was right." He reviewed what he had learned from Abrahamson. "It's
still up to Morley. That pawn broker's off, 'way off. He thinks George
Withers resembles the man with the beard, and, although he gave me the
description that fitted Morley exactly, he takes a look at him and denies
emphatically that Morley resembles at all the fellow with the disguise."

Abrahamson, however, was not satisfied with what he had seen. Back in
front of his shop, he opened the door, took down the sign he had left
hanging on the knob, "Back in ten minutes," substituted another, "Closed
for the day," relocked the door, and started off in the direction of
Casey's department store.

He had decided to devote the whole afternoon to detective work. Of
course, it would cost him money, having the shop closed half a day.
"But," he consoled himself, "I'm worth seventy thousand dollars. I bet
I am entitled to a little holiday."

CHAPTER XV

BRACEWAY SEES A LIGHT

Braceway had discovered long ago that the man who attempts good work as a
detective must depend almost as much on his ability to make friends as he
does on his capacity for sifting evidence.

"I'm a good worker," he was in the habit of saying, "but I'm not half as
good working alone as I am when I have the help of all the men and women
who are witnesses in a case or connected with it in some other way. I
need all the cooperation I can get."

This was one reason why Roddy, when he entered Braceway's room, felt sure
immediately that he would receive only kindly treatment. He had shown
signs of fear on entering the room, and in his extremely black face his
singularly white eyeballs had rolled around grotesquely.

But Braceway put him at ease with a smile.

"What have you been trying to do, Roddy?" was his first good-humoured
question. "Think you've got sense enough to fool all the white folks?"

"Who, boss? Me, boss?" the boy returned, disavowing with a grin any
pretense to intelligence. "Naw, suh, boss. You knows I ain' got no sense.
I ain' nevuh tried to fool nobody."

"Didn't you tell the chief of police you were awake all of Monday night
when you were on duty in the lobby and didn't you say the only thing you
did was to carry up Mr. Morley's bags?"

"Yas, suh, boss; an' dat was de tr