room they heard Thorn and Madden talking with the two officers. After a time, Bliss came out, followed by the millionaire and Constable Brackett. He greeted Holley as an old friend, and the editor introduced Bob Eden.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Eden,” said the captain. “Want to talk to you. What’s your version of this funny business?”
Bob Eden looked at him with distaste. He was a big, flat-footed policeman of the usual type, and no great intelligence shone in his eyes. The boy gave him a carefully edited story of the night before.
“Humph,” said Bliss. “Sounds queer to me.”
“Yes?” smiled Eden. “To me, too. But it happens to be the truth.”
“Well, I’ll have a look at the ground out there,” remarked Bliss.
“You’ll find nothing,” said Holley. “Except the footprints of this young man and myself. We’ve just been taking a squint around.”
“Oh, you have, have you?” replied Bliss grimly. He strode through the gate, the constable tagging after him. After a perfunctory examination the two returned.
“This is sure some puzzle,” said Constable Brackett.
“Is that so?” Bliss sneered. “Well, get on to yourself. How about this Chink, Ah Kim? Had a good job here, didn’t he? Louie Wong comes back. What does that mean? Ah Kim loses his job.”
“Nonsense,” protested Madden.
“Think so, do you?” remarked Bliss. “Well, I don’t. I tell you I know these Chinks. They think nothing of sticking knives in each other. Nothing at all.” Ah Kim emerged from
