“Your word’s good enough for me, Mr. Carter,” said Henley, consenting with a readiness denoting that his misgivings were entirely dispelled. “I’m right here to lend you a hand. Say what you want, sir, and I’ll do it.” “Good enough,” Nick declared. “We’ll set about it at once. Find the butler, Patsy, and have him give you a pair of Gordon’s shoes. I will look after those left by the girl. We’ll leave these other articles until we return. I’ll take the precaution, however, to lock the library door. Get Gordon’s shoes and rejoin us in the car.” Patsy hastened from the room, then started upstairs to say a few encouraging words to Strickland and Wilhelmina. “I wish to visit the spot where you found these garments, Henley, or where Ginger nosed them out, to be more correct,” said Nick, taking only the pair of button boots from the table and thrusting them into his pocket. “I’ll show you,” said Henley. “That won’t take long.” “We will expedite matters by going in my car as far as possible,” Nick added. “Bring along the dog. We may find him useful.” “He’s some dog, Mr. Carter; you can bet on that.” “He looks it, Henley, no mistake. One moment while I lock this door and remove the key. Now, then, we’re off.” Nick led the way out to the touring car, in which Patsy presently joined them, bringing a pair of Gordon’s shoes, and in another moment they were speeding down the long driveway toward the woodland road. “Take us to the point where we picked Henley up, Danny,” Nick directed. “He then can take the ribbons and show us the way.” “You can run a quarter mile farther,” said Henley. “That’ll take us to the crossroad. It’s rough going, then, too rough for a buzz car.” “We will walk the remaining distance, Henley, in that case,” Nick replied, all the while with an air of friendliness and appreciation of his services that appeared to deceive the swarthy ruffian. “I think you said it is less than a mile from the road to the pond you mentioned.” “’Tain’t more than half a mile.” “Just where did you see Gordon and the girl last evening?” “Going through the crossroad.” “We traced them to the juncture of the two roads.” “It was a quarter mile from there that I saw them.” “Was Gordon carrying a suit case?” “That’s what,” nodded Henley. “The girl had her jacket over her arm. The man had an ugly look, and they seemed to be in a fuss over something, but I couldn’t hear what they said. I watched them till they turned a bend in the road, and that was the last I saw of them.” “Gordon looked threatening, did he?” “I sure would have thought so, Mr. Carter, if he had been looking at me,” Henley forcibly declared. “He looked fit to fight a dog.”