Short Stories
I just sat there an' thought an' thought . . . oh, all kinds of
things. It's remarkable what a fellow'll think about. And then
there was a darn cat that kept movin' around the house an'
botherin' me with its noises."
"An' it's fat!" Jim exclaimed irrelevantly and with joy.
"I'm sure tellin' you, Jim, it's fat. I'm plum' anxious for an-
other look at 'em."
Unconsciously the two men quickened their pace. Yet they
did not relax from their caution. Twice they changed their
course in order to avoid policemen, and they made very sure
that they were not obvious when they dived into the dark hall-
way of a cheap rooming house down town.
Not until they had gained their own room on the top floor
did they scratch a match. While Jim lighted a lamp, Matt
locked the door and throw the bolts into place. As he turned,
he noticed that his partner was waiting expectantly. Matt
smiled to himself at the other's eagerness.
"Them search-lights is all right," he said, drawing forth a
small pocket electric lamp and examining it. " But we got to
get a new battery. It's runnin' pretty weak. I thought once or
twice it'd leave me in the dark. Funny arrangements in that
house. I near got lost. His room was on the left, an' that fooled
me some."
"I told you it was on the left," Jim interrupted.
"You told me it was on the right," Matt went on. "I guess I
know what you told me, an' there's the map you drew."
Fumbling in his vest pocket, he drew out a folded slip of
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