Permit no one to
approach the prisoners without proper authority."
"Your orders shall be obeyed to the letter," said the chief
importantly. He already saw his name figuring in the New York papers
as having assisted in the capture of a great thief.
I cursed under my breath. If it hadn't been for the girl, I am ashamed
to confess, I should have cursed out loud. She sat rigid and
motionless. It must have been a cruel ordeal for her. But what was
puzzling me was the fact that she made not the slightest effort to
spring her alibi. If _I_ had had one! Where was Hamilton? I scarcely
inclined to the idea of sleeping in jail in a dress-suit.
Haggerty departed. A silence settled gloomily down on us. Quarter of
an hour passed. The grim-visaged police watched us vigilantly. Half
an hour, three-quarters, an hour. Far away we heard the whistle of an
out-going train. Would I had been on it! From time to time we heard
faint music. At length there was a noise outside the door, and a
moment later Hamilton and two others came in. When he saw me, he
stopped, his eyes bulging and his mouth agape.
"Dicky Comstalk?" he cried helplessly. "What the devil does this
mean?"--turning to the police.
"Do you know this fellow, Mr.
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