You're a good watch-dog--for a hen-coop!" growled Haggerty. "Ten
thousand in gems to-night, and by this time he is safe in New York.
You are all a pack of blockheads.
"Used the telephone, did he? Told you to hold these innocent persons
till he went somewhere to land the accomplice, eh? The whistle of the
train meant nothing to you. Well, that whistle ought to have told you
that there might be a mistake. A good officer never quits his
prisoners. If there is an accomplice in toils elsewhere, he makes them
bring him in, he does not go _out_ for him. And now I've got to start
all over again, and he in New York, a bigger catacomb than Rome ever
boasted of. He's not a common thief; nobody knows who he is or what
his haunts are. But I have seen his face; I'll never forget him."
The chief tore his hair, while his subordinates shuffled their feet
uneasily. Then they all started in to explain their theories. But the
detective silenced them with a wave of his huge hand.
"I don't want to hear any explanations. Let these persons go," he
commanded, with a jerk of his head in our direction. "You can all
return to town but one officer. I may need a single man," Haggerty
added thoughtfully.
"What are you going to do?" asked the chief.
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